
COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



f* 



MAKERS 



OF 



NEW YORK 



AN HISTORICAL WORK 



GIVING PORTRAITS AND SKETCHES OF THE MOST EMINENT 

CITIZENS OE NEW YORK. 



EDITED BY 

I 

CHARLES MORRIS. 



* 



PUBLISHED BY 

L. R. HAMERSLY & CO., 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
189^. 






No. 712 



Coi'VRii;iir. 1S94. \:\ I.. R. Hameksly & Co. 



-V^ 



Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. 



/ 



PREFACE. 



The history of a city is, to a large extent, the history of the men who, through the exercise of 
energy, ability, and public spirit, have made it what it is ; whose lives have not been solely 
devoted to business and personal concerns, but who have had the interests of their city at heart; 
and to whose earnestness of purpose and patriotic devotion to the good of the municipality its 
institutions and public and industrial interests owe their origin and development. This may truly 
be said of New York, the influence of whose leading citizens has been strongly felt in the 
growth of its civic institutions, and to whose commercial and political activity it owes the high 
standing which it has attained among the cities of the world. Men of this character have been, 
in the truest sense, the " Makers of New York," and no men better deserve the honor that it 
is here proposed to give them, of placing on record the story of their careers. Since to their 
exertions the city owes its growth and prosperity, it is fitting that they should receive the high 
measure of credit which is their due, and that the coming generations should have the oppor- 
tunity of learning what has been the influence of the present and former citizens of New York 
upon its evolution, and of profiting by their example. It is to this worthy end that the work 
here offered is devoted. 

Here may be read the life stories of those citizens of the American metropolis who have 
been most eminent in commercial and productive enterprise, and of those whose professional, 
legislative, and official careers have been most marked and valuable. Among them are included 
many of the most prominent merchants, bankers, jurists, statesmen, theologians, physicians, 
soldiers, authors, scientists, and pliilanthropists of our country ; men of leading influence in 
colonial days, men who played well their parts in the great drama of Independence, men who 
fought nobly for the cause of the Union in the civil war, men to whom is due the commercial 
and industrial growth of our city, antl, in brief, the men who have lifted this city from its minor 
position of a century or more ago and given it its high standing as one of the metropolitan 
cities of the civilized world. 

• 



PREFACE. 



To all those who take pride in the progress of a city which, in tlie brief space of two and 
a half centuries, has far outgrown cities which were founded more than two thousand years ago, 
and to-day has but one or two peers in the world, this work is ottered as, in an ample sense, 
a history of that city, since it is the history of the men who have been its leading and inspiring 
spirits, and of those who are now engaged in laying for it the foundations of a marked and 
memorable future. We shall not here repeat the names of these eminent citizens. On every 
page of the work may be seen their pictured lineaments and biographical sketches of their lives, 
the whole forming a galaxy of merit of which any city might jusdy be proud. 

This work, in truth, needs no eulogistic preface. It speaks tor itselt". Alike as a splendid 
example of the art of hook-making and for the permanent value of its contents, it appeals to 
every citizen of the metropolis, and must long be cherished as the roll of honor of those to 
whom the city owes its fame, its development, and its prosperity. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



PETER COOPER. 

Pktek Cooper, the builder of tlie first American loco- 
motive and one of the most notable of American philan- 
thropists, was a native of New York City, being born 
there February 12, 1791. His grandfather and father 
had both served in the Revolutionary War. His father 
was not successful in business, and the boy had but one 
year of poor schooling, being kept busy by" his father 
at hat- and brick-making and ale-brewing. At the age 
of seventeen he was apprenticed to Mr. Woodward, a 
coach-builder, and here not only distinguished himself 
for industry and integrit)', but constructed a machine for 
mortising wheel-hubs which proved ver\- profitable to his 
employer. 

At the end of his apprenticeship Mr. Woodwaixl offered 
to start him in business, but he declined, and entered 
upon the manufacture of cloth-shearing machines at 
Ilampstead, Long Island. He afterwards successively 
became cabinet-maker, grocer, and gluc-makcr. the latter 
pro\ing profitable. He did not, however, confine his 
business to the glue manufacture, but in 1828 purchased 
three thousand acres of Luul at Canton, a suburb of 
l^altimore, for 5105,000, and erected there large iron- 
works, to which he subsequently added a rolling-mill. 
The building of railroads had then begun, and locomo- 
tives had been imported, but the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad, then under construction, was believed to be 
unfitted, by reason of its short curves, to these imported 
engines. Mr. Cooper's inventive powers were enlisted 
to meet this emergency, and in 1830 he produced the 
first American-built locomotive. This, which was built 
from his own designs, proved capable of overcoming the 
difficult}', and rescued the compan)- frohi a \ery awkward 
emergency. It was called the " Tom Thumb," and on 
its trial trip ran thirteen miles in fift}--seven minutes. 

Soon after this success Mr. Cooper sold his iron-works 
in Baltimore, but two years afterwards built others in 
New York, which, after leasing for a time, he took under 
his own management. Here lie produced wire, and 
successfully used anthracite coal in iron-puddling. In 
1845 he removed his works to Trenton, wlierc they grew 
in time into an extensive establishment, w ith subsidiary 
furnaces in other places. For many years he employed 
over two thousand fi\e hundred workmen. During his 
business career he invented a number of usefid devices, 




and among his business enterprises was an active interest 
in telegraphy, of which he had been an early advocate 
and promoter. About 1855 he became president of the 
American Telegraph Company, and took part in the first 
effort to laj' a cable across the Atlantic, while he assisted 
liberally the subsequent efforts. 

In his later life his benevolent instincts developed into 
a resolve to assist the youth of the coming time to pro- 
cure the advantages of education which had been denied 
to himself. He conscquentl}' [)urchased the lots between 
Third and I""ourth A\enues and Seventh and Eighth 
Streets, New York, and in 1S53 began to build there the 
brownstone edifice known as the Cooper Union. When 
completed the building had cost 5634,000. To this Mr. 
Cooper added other donations in aid of his purposes, 
w hich were the establishment of free schools in various 
arts and sciences, free reading-rooms, free courses of 
scientific lectures, etc. The institution has proved of the 
highest educational value. 

Politically, Mr. Cooper in his later life advocated the 
principles held by the Greenback party, and in 1876 was 
nominated by this party for the Presidency, receiving 
eight)-one thousand \otes. In private life he was 
modest, affable, unassuming, and public-spirited, and was 
always noted for charity and generosity. He died in 
New York, April 4, 1883. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WASHINGTON IRVING. 

Wasiiin(;ton IkviN(1, tlie first Aniciican to gain a 
European reputation in the field of authorship, was bom 
in the city of New York, April 3, 1783. Both his parents 
had come from Great Britain, and his father, at the time 
of Irving's birth, was a merchant of considerable stand- 
ing. The son was placed at the study of law, but was 
compelled to forego his studies and sail for Europe on 
account of illness. During his stay abroad he proceeded 
as far as Rome, where he made the acquaintance of 
Washington Allston, an event whicii doubtless added 
to his inclination towards literature. On his return to 
New York he completed his studies and was admitted to 
the bar, but showed no inclination to practice, spending 
his time instead in literary ventures. 

Mis first notable contribution to literature was as one 
of the authors of the satirical miscellany called Sal- 
iiiaa^iiiidi, which he wrote in association with his brother 
William and J. K. Paulding, and in which his talent as a 
humorist was first prominently displajx'd. His powers 
in this direction were more ampl)' shown in his second 
work, the notable " Knickerbt)cker's History of New 
York," issued in 1809. His original purpose was to 
burlesque certain pedantic local anti(|uaries, but the iilea 
e.\panded into a work of striking quaintness and drollery, 
the most original of Irving's productions, and in which 
the solid and phlegmatic Dutch burgher was developed 
into a distinct literary type. The word Knickerbocker 
was coined by him for the occasion. 

For several years afterwards Irving devoted himself to 
business c<incerns as a i)arlncr in tlie commercial house 
which his brother had estahlishetl after the death of their 
fatlier. Tlie war seriously affected the prosperity of this 



business, and the firm finally became bankrupt, a circum- 
stance which compelled Irving to turn to his pen as a 
means of subsistence. He had gone to England in 181 5 
to look after the interests of the Liverpool branch of 
the business, and there found awaiting him a reputation 
which procured him admission into the highest literary 
circles, in which his amiable disposition and polished 
manners insured him popularity. 

In 1820, Murray, the publisher, brought out his " Geof- 
frej' Crayon's Sketch-Book," which was then appearing 
in America in a periodical form. One of the most inter- 
esting portions of this book is its description of an Eng- 
lish Christmas, which is described with a delicate humor 
worth)' of Addison. It also contains the striking legend 
of Rip Van Winkle. This work met with the greatest 
success on both sides of the Atlantic, and was followed 
in 1822 by " Bracebridge Hall," a work purely English 
in subject. The " Tales of a Traveller" appeared in 1824. 

The success of his literarj- ventures hati now made 
Irving easy in circumstances, anil he set out for a tour of 
Europe. This ended at Madrid, Spain, where he began 
the study of the Spanish archi\es, a labor w hich resulted 
in his beautifully written " Life and Voyages of Christo- 
pher Columbus," a work which achieved the greatest 
success. It was followed b}' the " Companions of Colum- 
bus," and somewhat later by two highly picturesque and 
entertaining books, " The Conquest of Granada" and 
"The Alhambra," among the best known of Irving's 
works. 

He returned to the United States in 1832, after an 
absence of seventeen j-ears, and at once fouml himself 
highly popular, being met w ith an enthusiastic succession 
of fiites and public rece[5tions. After a journey West he 
returned to New York, and built himself his delightful 
residence on the Hudson, since known as " Sunnyside." 
His subsequent works include "Astoria," a history of 
Astor's fur-trading settlement in Oregon ; " Captain 
Bonneville," from the memoirs of a veteran hunter; 
"Oliver Goldsmith," "Mahomet ami his Successors," 
and " The Life of George Washington." We need .say 
nothing as to the character of these works ; the)' are too 
well known to call for description. 

Irving's home life was broken by a periotl of four 
years' residence abroad, as minister to Spain. He died 
at Sunnyside, November 28, 1859. Irving's works are 
characteristically European in style, with the exception of 
the " Knickerbocker," in which he tlispla)ed the power 
of producing a distinctive national type. But they are 
so polished in style, easy and flowing in narrative, and 
]>ictiMesque in ilescription, that they must long hokl a 
high i)lace among the classical products of the American 
pen. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 

On November 3, 1794, at Cummington, Massachusetts, 
was born one who was destined to become one of the 
foremost figures in the literarj' history of our country, 
William Cullcn Bryant, the distinguished poet of nature 
and journalist. His maternal ancestrj' could be traced 
back to John Alden and his wife Priscilla, whose story is 
so beautifully told by Longfellow ; while his father, Dr. 
Peter Bryant, came from equally remote American an- 
cestry, which reached this country in 1632. The son 
began his collegiate education at Williams College in 
1 8 10, but, being dissatisfied with its course of study, left 
there at the end of the year with the intention of enter- 
ing Yale. He was not able, howe\er, to do so, owincr 
to his father's limited means, and for some time pur- 
sued his studies at home. It was at this time that 
he produced that remarkable poem upon which his 
fame as a poet chiefly rests, and which has scarcely a 
rival in the whole annals of poctr}- to be produced by 
one so young. 

While still a child he had manifested poetic taste, and 
many poems and poetic fragments are still extant w hich 
he wrote between the ages of eight and sixteen, consist- 
ing of odes, satires, scriptural paraphrases, etc. In 1807 
he published "The Embargo, a Satire: by a Youth of 
Thirteen," which was criticised as beyond the powers of 
any boy of that age. These juvenile productions, while 
showing a decided literary faculty, were of little value as 
poetry, being principally imitations of the style of Pope, 
then greatly admired. The suggestion of his great poem 
" Thanatopsis" came to him one day when rambling 
through the forest and mentally comparing Blair's poem 
of " The Grave" with the similar poem by Bishop Porteus, 
and having in mind also Kirke White's " Ode to the 
Rosemary." The poem which came into being as a 
result of this ramble and meditation on serious topics 
was written out, put aside, and apparently forgotten in 
the pressure of more immediatel}' practical thoughts con- 
nected with his future life duties. 

In 181 2 he began the study of law, and in 18 15 was 
admitted to the bar as an attorney of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas. He began his life as a lawyer in Plainfield, 
Massachusetts, but left there at the end of eight months i 
for Great Barrington, where he continued to practice for 
nine years. While at Plainfield he wrote his favorite 
" Lines to a Waterfowl," and at Great Barrington was 
more successful as an author than a lawyer, his ability 
now becoming widel\- known. 1 lis father, then servincf as 
State senator, accidentally disco\-cred the " Thanatopsis" 
and a fragment of another poem and took them to Boston, 
where they were published in the North American Review 
of September, 1817. 




" Thanatopsis" produced an immediate and deep im- 
pression. No American poet had yet written anything 
of equal beauty and grandeur. The author was solicited 
to become a regular contributor to the Ri-z'icw, and in 
the next year made his first appearance as a prose writer 
in a review of Brown's "Collection of American Poetr\-." 
From that time forward he continued his literary work, 
contributing to Dana's Id/c Man and the United States 
Literary Gazette, and publishing a thin volume of his 
earlier pieces. His work was so favorably received that 
in 1825 he abandoned the profession of the law and 
made his way to New York, where he soon became ac- 
quainted with a number of literary and artistic celebrities, 
and was induced to accept the editorship of the New 
York Review. This enterprise did not succeed, and he 
obtained a place on the staff of the Evening Post, while 
at the same time assisting in editing the Talisman, an 
illustrated annual. 

In 1829, on the death of the jjroprietor of the Evening 
Post, Bryant was advanced to the position of editor-in- 
chief and part proprietor. His duties in this position put 
an end for a long time to any production of poetry, and 
his later poems were not numerous, though all of choice 
quality. He continued to edit the Post with great ability 
till his death, which occurred on June 12, 1878. In 1832 
a collection of his poems was published, and in 1850 his 
" Letters of a Traveller," descriptive of se\'eral years of 
journeying abroad. Other volumes of travel were after- 
wards published, and in 1870 a noble translation of the 
" Iliad," followed in 1872 by the " Odyssey." His poems 
do not number more than one hundred and fifty in all, 
most of them short, yet none of them lacking in that 
rich spirit of meditation and profound reflection in which 
he particularly excelled. 



MAKERS OF XEW YORK. 




REAR-ADMIRAL CHARLES WILKES. 

Rear-Admiral Chaklks WiLKiis was bom in the city 
of New York on the 3d of April, 1798. His family 
were English, his great-uncle being John Wilkes, or 
" Liberty" Wilkes, as he was called. In character he 
was energetic, fearless, and unflinching ; when acting for 
his country's good, never afraid to assume responsibility 
when assured that it was the best thing to do. 

On the 1st of Januar)-, 1818, he recei\ed his appoint- 
ment as midshipman ; promoted to lieutenant .April 28, 
1826. In 1830 he was ordered to duty in the Depart- 
ment of Charts and Instruments. It was then that he 
set uj) fixed astronomical instruments in a small house 
on the grounds of his home on Capitol Hill, Washington, 
D.C.and he was the first in the United States to observe 
with them. 

In 1838 he was ordered as commander of the United 
States E.xploring E.xpcdition, and .sailed from Xorfolk, 
Virginia, on the l8th of August of that \ear with five 
vessels under his cummand. During the expedition he 
visited the islands of the Pacific, explored and siirvc)^ed 
the Samoan group, and then turned southward, where 
he discovered the Antarctic Continent, coasting west- 
ward along it for more than seventy degrees. 

In 1840 the northwestern coast of Nortli America was 
visited, also the Columbia and Sacramento Rivers. In 
November, 1841, the expedition turned its face home- 
ward, via the Cape of Good Hoi)c, and cast anchor in 
New York harbor June 10, 1S42. 

The contributions of this exiieditinn constitute part of 
the world's history. In acknowledgment of his services 



to science in this connection, the Geographical Society of 
London presented Lieutenant Wilkes with a gold medal. 

After this e.Kpedition charges were preferred against 
Lieutenant Wilkes and a court-martial held. He was 
acquitted of all charges, save that of illegally punishing 
some of his crew. He served on the Coast Survey in 
1 842-1 843. 

He was promoted to commander July 13, 1843, and 
was sent to bring home the African Squadron. He was 
then employed in the report of the expedition until 1861. 
When the civil war opened, having received his com- 
mission as captain September 14, 1855, he was placed in 
command of the cruiser " San Jacinto." He then sailed 
in pursuit of the Confederate privateer " Sumter." 

On the 8th of November, 1861, he interceptetl the rebel 
commissioners bound for England on board Her Majesty's 
steamer "Trent." Sending Lieutenant 1). .M. I'airfa.x on 
board, Messrs. Mason and Slidell were brought to the 
" San Jacinto," and the " Trent" proceeded on her way. 
The officials w-ere taken to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor. 
Wilkes was the hero of the North. Congress passed a 
resolution of thanks, and the Secretary of the Navy sent 
an emphatic commendation. It resulted, however, in an 
international complication, and the Confederate ambas- 
sadors were released at luigland's recjuest. It has been 
claimed that Captain Wilkes should ha\-e made the case 
impregnable by sending the " Trent" to the United States 
as a prize. He was, however, justified in the course 
which he pursued by English precedent, according to 
Major George B. Davis's work on " International Law." 
Cf. note, pp. 361, 362. 

In 1862, Captain Wilkes commanded the James Ri\'er 
Flotilla, and shelled City Point. He was promoted to 
commodore July 16, 1862, and placed in conuiiand of 
the FK'ing Scjuadron in the West Indies. 

Of the officers under his command, Rear-Admiral 
Stevens is among the few remaining. Commoilore Wilkes 
was placed on the retired list, June 25, 1864, from age, 
and promoted to rear-admiral, on the retired list, July 
25, 1866. His contributions to literature were the nar- 
rative of the expedition (four volumes), and the volumes 
on meteorolog)- and hydrography. He is also the author 
of "Western America," 1849, and "The Theory of the 
Winds," 1856. 

Admiral Wilkes lived until I'ebruary 8. 1877. He 
died at his home in Washington. His later years were 
spent in retirement, i)ut u|) tu a few days of his death 
his one thought was his country, ami his regret that his 
time of scr\in<' her was ended. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



LIEUTENANT-COLONEL AND BREVET MAJOR-GEN- 
ERAL EMORY UPTON. 

Lieutenant-Colonel and Brevet ]\L\jor-General 
Emorv Upton was born in New York, and graduated 
from the Military Academy on RLay 6, 1861. He was 
promoted second lieutenant, Fourth Artillery, the same 
day, and first lieutenant, Fifth Artillery, May 14, 1861. 
He served in drilling volunteers at Washington, D. C, 
May 7-27, 1861 ; as aide-de-camp in the defences of 
Washington and during the Manassas campaign ; and 
was engaged in the action at Blackburn's Ford, July 
18, and battle of Bull Run, Virginia, July 21, 1861, 
where he was wounded. He was on sick-leave, on 
account of wounds, to August 14, 1861, and then served 
in the defences of Washington to March 22, 1862, at 
which time he participated in the Virginia Peninsula 
campaign with the Arni\- of the Potomac, commanding 
a battery, and was engaged in the siege of Yorktown, 
action at West Point, battle of Gaines' Mill, and Glen- 
dale, 1862. Commanded artillery brigade of the First 
Division of Sixth Corps in the Maryland campaign, and 
engaged in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. 

Lieutenant Upton was commissioned colonel of the One 
Hundred and Twenty-first New York Infantry on October 
23, 1 862, and participated in the Rappahannock campaign, 
being engaged in the battles of Fredericksburg and Salem 
Heights. He participated in the Penn.sylvania campaign, 
and was engaged, after a forced march of thirty-five miles, 
in the battle of Gettysburg and the pursuit of the enemy 
to Warrenton, in command of a brigade; was in the Rap- 
idan campaign, commanding a brigade of the .Sixth Corps, 
and engaged in the capture of the rebel works at Rap- 
pahannock Station, November 7, 1863, and was in the 
operations at Mine Run, from No\-ember 26 to December 
3, 1863; was in the Richmond campaign, in command 
of a brigade of the Sixth Corps, and engaged in the bat- 
tles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, where he was 
wounded on May 10, 1864, while commanding the assault- 
ing column of twelve regiments of the Sixth Corps. 

Colonel Upton was commissioned brigadier-general of 
volunteers on May 12, 1864, and was engaged in the 
battles and actions of Cold Harbor, June 1—23, 1864, and 
siege of and battles about Petersburg to July 10, 1864, 
when he was transferred with his command to Washing- 
ton, and participated in the defence of the national capital, 
July 11-12, 1864. He participated in the Shenandoah 
campaign, August and September, 1864, and was engaged 
in the battle of Winchester, September 19, where he was 
wounded while commanding the First Division of the 
Sixth Corps, which compelled him to leave the field, 
and was absent sick until December 13, 1864. He 
commanded the Fourth Cavalrj' Division in General J. 
H. Wilson's operations in Alabama and Georgia, from 




March to Ma\', 1865, and was engaged in the actions 
at Montevallo and Plantersville, and assault and capture 
of Columbus, Georgia, April 16, 1S65. He was then at 
the Nashville Cavalry Depot, in command of the First 
Cavalry Division, District of East Tennessee, and of the 
District of Colorado, to April 30, 1866, when he was 
mustered out of the volunteer service. He was bre- 
vettcd major-general of volunteers, October 19, 1864, for 
gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Win- 
chester. He was also bre\'etted in the regular arm}' 
for gallant and meritorious services, as follows : major, 
November 8, 1863, at the battle of Rappahannock Sta- 
tion; lieutenant-colonel, Ma\- 10, 1S64, at the battle of 
Spottsj-lvania ; colonel, September 19, 1864, at the battle 
of Winchester; brigadier-general, March 13, 1865, at the 
battle and capture of Selma, and major-general, March 
13, 1865, in the field during the Rebellion. 

He was promoted captain. Fifth Artillery, Februar)- 
22, 1865, and appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty- 
fifth Infantr\-, July 28, 1866, but transferred to the Eigh- 
teenth Infantry, March 15, 1869. He served, after the 
war, with a board of officers at W^est Point, New York, 
in examining his System of Infantry Tactics, from June 
25, 1866, to February 4, 1867, which were adopted for 
the army. September, 1867, assigned to the command 
of Paducah, Kentucky, until November 12, 1867. He 
was then in garrison at Memphis, Tennessee, and Atlanta, 
Georgia, to May 30, 1870, when he was assigned to duty 
at the Military Academy as commandant of cadets, which 
position he retained until June 30, 1875. Was assigned to 
the First Artillery, December 15, 1876, and transferred to 
the Fourth Artillery, March 20, 1877. He was on profes- 
sional duty in Europe and Asia from July, 1875, to March, 
1877. Was at Fort Monroe and Presidio of San Fran- 
cisco, California, from April, 1877, to March, 1S81, when 
he died at the last-named post, aged forty-two years. 



lO 



MAKERS OF XEW YORK. 



I 




.^' / 



JOHN HRICSSON. 

JuiiN Ekicssun, one of tlio ablest of American enj^i- 
ncers and inventors, was a Swede by birth, being born 
in Vermcland, a province of Sweden, in 1803. His 
mechanical talent showed itself at a very early a<^e, and 
in 18 14, when but eleven years of age, he was appointed 
a cadet in the engineer corps and employed as a leveler 
in constructing the grand canal between the Baltic Sea 
and the (icrnian Ocean. He entered the army of Sweden 
as an ensign in 1820, being employed in militarj- dut\- in 
the north of the kingdom. By 1826 he had risen to the 
rank of captain. During this period of military life his 
inventive talent was by no means in abeyance, and in the 
last-named year he resigned from the army and went to 
I'jiglanil for the purpose of introducing a flame-engine 
which he had iinented. It failed, however, not proving 
suitable for coal fuel, tlKnigh it had been successfully 
used with wood. 

He now went vigorously into mechanical pursuits, 
devising many new in\entions, among them an artificial 
draft to improve the service of the steam-boiler. The 
principle devised by him, though not his method, is still 
in use. In 1829 various locomotive engines were oflered 
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company, in 
competition for a prize which they had ]>roiioscd to gi\e. 
Ericsson entered actively into this competition, and de- 
vised and built an engine which was at once the lightest 
one exhibited, and capable of a speed of fifiv miles an 
hour. It took the prize. 

The successful inventor now constructed a steam fire- 
engine which ]3ro\eil an equal success, and in 1833 at- 
tracted the attenti(jn of scientists and engineers in London 



by his caloric or hot-air engine, then first exhibited. In 
1836 he applied the screw to the propulsion of steam- 
vessels. But the British admiralty failed to see the ad- 
vantages of this admirable invention, and the disappointed 
inventor made his way to New York, hoping to receive 
greater encouragement in the nation of inventors beyond 
the Atlantic. 

In this country the United States steamer " Princeton" 
was built under his direction in 1843. The fertility of 
invention which he displayed in this undertaking was 
remarkable. The steam-engine, though powerful, was 
simple and compact, and the chimney could be raised or 
lowered at pleasure, while all the propelling machinery 
was placed below the water-line. The recoil of the guns 
was counteracted b)- mechanical de\ices, and other im- 
portant impro\ements were introduced. During the suc- 
ceeding years ICricsson continued to produce inventions, 
principally of a practical character, and in 1852 applied 
his caloric engine in a new form as an agent in na\iga- 
tion. This was first tried in the " Ericsson," a vessel of 
two thousand tons, which attained a moderate speed at a 
very small expense in fuel. The caloric engine proved 
better adapted than steam for light work, and during the 
remainder of his life Mr. Ericsson added manv improve- 
ments to his original design. 

After the outbreak of the ci\ il war the United States 
emplo)-ed him to construct iron vessels with revoking 
turrets, a form of war-vessel which Ericsson and others 
had experimented with before, and which he now called 
to the attention of the governmental authorities. The 
first result of this contract was the production of the 
famous " Monitor," which was built in one hundred days, 
it being important that it should be ready to meet the iron- 
clad " Merriniac," which the Confederate engineers were 
rajiidly jireparing at Norfolk. The result of this contest 
for speed is well known. The " Mcrrimac" was ready in 
time to destroy several of the L'nitetl States frigates in 
Hampton Roads, but was forced to retire, incurably hurt, 
before tin- in\ incible " Monitor." 

Ericsson constructed several other vessels for the 
government on the " Monitor" plan, and after the war 
produced manj- inventions, among them a pyrometer, an 
alarm barometer, and a hydrostatic gauge. In his later 
years he gave much time and thought to the construc- 
tion of a solar engine, to work by the concentrated 
heat of the sun. He had achieved a large measure 
of success in this effort at the time of his death, which 
took place March 8, 1889. At his request his body 
was taken to Sweden for interment, while his admiring 
fellow-countrymen erected a statue to his hmidr in 
Stockholm. 



I 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



II 



WILLIAM E. DODGE. 

William Earl Dodge was born at Hartford, Con- 
necticut, September 4, 1805, the lineal descendant of a 
Puritan ancestor, William Dodge, who landed at Salem 
in 1629. His father was a merchant and manufacturer, 
and the builder of the first cotton-mill in Connecticut. 
His mother was Sarah Cleveland, whose father, in 1775, 
introduced a bill in the Assembly of Connecticut for the 
abolition of slaverj-. 

Mr. Dodge began his business career in 18 18, as a 
boy in a dry-goods store on Pearl Street, New York, his 
father having removed to that city. In 18 19 the family 
returned to Connecticut, and the youth became a clerk 
in a store at Bozrahville in that State. Si.x years after- 
wards his father opened a dry-goods store in New York 
City, in which his son was employed as an assistant. 

In 1828, Mr. Dodge married Melissa Phelps, daughter 
of Anson G. Phelps, with whom in 1833 he entered into 
partnership in the metal business, the firm-name being 
Phelps, Dodge & Co. This firm still exists, and is widely 
known in commercial circles. Mr. Dodge remained con- 
nected with it throughout the remainder of his life, and 
acquired a large fortune, partK' through the business of 
the firm and partly from \-arious other business \entures. 
In 1836 he made large in\estments in timber-lands near 
Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and afterwards in Canada 
and Georgia, and to a lesser extent in other localities. 
As a recognition of the value of his services in the in- 
dustrial development of the State, Georgia in 1870 made 
a separate county to which it gave the name of Dodge. 
He became interested also in the copper-mining interests 
of Lake Superior and other regions. A rolling-mill was 
established by the firm at Derby, Connecticut, and Mr. 
Dodge, as a personal enterprise, founded the Lackawanna 
Iron and Coal Company at Scranton, Pennsylvania, of 
which he remained a director till his death. In addition 
to these various business connections, he had large iron 
and steel interests elsewhere. 

His connection with the comnicrcial interests of New 
York was close and e.xtended. For several terms he 
served as president of the New York Chamber of Com- 
merce, was one of the first directors of the Mutual Life 
Insurance Company of New York, and was associated 
with various other mercantile and financial enterprises. 
He was one of the original subscribers to the Atlantic 
telegraph cable, and did much to encourage Cyrus W. 
Field in his persistent enterprise. His connection with 
railroad affairs began early in his business life, and be- 
came very e.xtensive in his later \ears. The New York 
and Erie Railroad was the first to enlist his attention, and 
he afterwards became largely concerned in the Central 
Railroad of New Jersey and in several other roads. He 




was one of the first to take stock in the elewated railways 
of New York. 

Outside of his business relations, Mr. Dodge was 
earnestly active in all that took place in New York. He 
became a life member of the New York Historical So- 
ciet}-, and in 1853 became prominent in the mo\ement 
for municipal reform in that cit)-. At the age of twenty- 
one he became awakened ■ to deep religious con\ictions, 
and ever afterwards took an active part in religious move- 
ments. So great was his feeling in favor of the cessa- 
tion of secular activity on Sunday that he severed his 
connection with the Erie and the Central Railroads when, 
in opposition to his objection, they decided upon Sunday 
travel. He 'was a member of the Bible Society, of the 
Young Men's Christian Association, of the City Mission, 
and of other religious movements, and contributed lib- 
erally to the support of missionary and other church 
interests. He was a prominent advocate of temperance, 
and did his utmost to promote it by voice, pen, and 
money. The State Asj-lum for Inebriates, at Bingham- 
ton, New York, and several similar institutions were 
founded by him, and he was president of the National 
Temperance Society from its origin till his death. 

Politically he was a moderate Whig, and afterwards 
an active Republican, and an earnest supporter of the 
government during the war. He served as a Presiden- 
tial elector in the second election of Grant", and as a 
member of the Indian Commission by Grant's appoint- 
ment. During the Thirty-fourth Congress he was a 
member of the United States House of Representatives. 
Privately Mr. Dodge was a man of wide benevolence, 
his gifts for charitable purposes aggregating many 
thousands of dollars yearly. He died at New York, 
February 9, 1883. 



12 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




BRIGADIER-GENERAL THOMAS H. RUGER. 

Bki(;adiei<-Geni:kai, Thomas H. RixiEK was born in 
New York, and graduated from the U. S. Military Acad- 
cni)- Jul)" I, 1854, when lie was appointed brevet second 
lieutenant Corps of Engineers. He served at New Or- 
leans, Louisiana, in 1854-1S55, and resigned from the 
service April i, 1855. 

In civil life he was counsellor-at-law at Janesville, Wis- 
consin, from 1856 to 1 86 1, when he again entered the ser- 
vice as lieutenant-colonel of the Third Wisconsin Volun- 
teers, serving in command of liis regiment in ojierations 
in Marj'land and the Shenandoah Valley from July, 1861, 
to August, 1862, in the mean time having been promoted 
colonel of his regiment, to date from August 20, 1861. 

Colonel Ruger was engaged in the movement to Har- 
risonburg, Virginia, February, 1862; combat of Win- 
chester, May 25, 1862; retreat to Willianisport, Marj- 
land. May, 1862, and advance to Little Washington, 
Virginia, July, 1862 ; in the Northern \'irginia campaign, 
being engaged in the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 
9, 1862; in the Maryland campaign (Ami)- of the Poto- 
mac), being engaged in the battle of Antietam, and sub- 
sequent march to Falmouth, V^irginia. 

He was appointed brigadier-general U. S. Volunteers 
November 29, 1862, and commanded a brigade in the 
Twelfth Corps, Arm)- of the I'otnmac, in the Rai)|)ahan- 
nock campaign, being engaged in the battle of Chancel- 
lorsville. May 2-4, 1863; in the Pennsylvania campaign, 
being engaged in the battle of Gettysburg (where he com- 
manded a division), July 1-3, 1863; and subsequent march 
to Warrentfin, Virginia. He partici[)ated in suppressing 
the draft riots in New York City, August to September, 
1863, and when that trouble ceased was on duty in Ten- 
nessee, October, 1863, to April, 1864. He was then as- 
signed to the command of a brigade of the Twentieth 
Corps in the invasion of Georgia, being engaged in the 



battles of Resaca, May 15, 1864, and New Hope Church, 
May 25, 1864; action of Kulp House, June 22, 1864; 
combat of Peach-Tree Creek, July 20, 1864, and in nu- 
merous skirmishes on the march from Ma\- to July, 1864; 
siege of Atlanta, July 22 to September 2, 1864, and oc- 
cupation of Atlanta, September 2 to November 8, 1864. 
He commanded a division of the Twenty-third Corps in 
the Tennessee campaign against the rebel army of Gen- 
eral Hood, November 15 to December 8, 1864, being 
engaged in operations about Columbia and battle of 
Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864. 

He then organized the First Division of the Twenty- 
third Corps, and was in command of his division in the 
operations in North Carolina, being engaged in the move- 
ment up the Neuse River, February to March, 1865; 
action at Wier's Fork, near Kinston, ^L-lrch 10, 1865 ; sur- 
render of the insurgent army under General J. E. Johns- 
ton at Darien Station, April 26, 1865, and in command 
of the Department and District of North Carolina, June 
27, 1865, to September i, 1866, when he was mustered 
out of the volunteer service, having been reappointed in 
the U. S. Ami}-, with the rank of colonel of the Thirty- 
third Infantry, July 28, 1866. 

General Ruger was brevetted major-general L'. S. Vol- 
unteers, November 30, 1864, for gallant and meritorious 
services at the battle of Franklin, and bre\ct brigadier- 
general U.S. Army, March 2, 1S67, for gallant and meri- 
torious services at the battle of Gettysburg. While in 
command of his regiment at Atlanta, he was made pro- 
visional governor of the State of Georgia from January 
13 to July 4, 1868, and was in command of the District 
of Alabama to I'ebruary i, 1869. He was transferred 
to the l'"ighteenth Infantry March 15, 1869. 

General Ruger commanded the Department of the 
South from March 5 to May 31, I S69, and, after .serv- 
ing with his regiment until September 1, 1871. was de- 
tailetl as superintendent of the U. S. Militar\- Acadcmj-, 
where he remained until September 1, 1876; he was then 
placed in conmiaiul of the Department of the South to 
July I, 1878. He commanded Fort Assinaboine, to- 
gether with the District of Montana, to October i, 1879, 
and then conmianded the District of Montana to May 
13, 1885. He commanded his regiment and the post of 
P'ort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Infantrj- and Cavalry 
School of Ajjplication from June 29, 1885, to April 8, 
1 886, when he was appointetl brigadier-general \J. S. 
Army March 19, 1S86, and a.ssigned to the conmiand 
of the Department of the Missouri, remaining to May 4, 
1886; and then transferred to the Department of Dakota, 
which command he retained until April, 1 891, when he was 
transferred to the command of the Military Divi.sion of 
I the Pacific. The military divisions being discontinued in 
; July, 1 89 1, General Ruger was as.signed to the command 
I of the Department of California, which he now retains. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



13 



HAMILTON FISH. 

Hamilton Fish, Governor of the State of New York, 
and for two terms Secretary of State of the United 
States, was a native of New York City, in which he was 
born on August 3, 180S. He obtained his education in 
Columbia College, from whicli he graduated in 1827, and 
immediately began the study of the law. He was ad- 
mitted to the New York bar in 1S30. His inclination, 
however, led him rather to a political than a legal life, he 
early manifesting a strong interest in State affairs, from 
the stand-point of the Whig party. His first public ser- 
vice was as commissioner of deeds, which post he filled 
for several years. In 1834 he became a candidate for the 
Assembly, but was defeated. In 1842 he was nominated 
as the Whig candidate for Congress to represent the 
Si.Kth District of New York, and was elected. 

After serving one term in Congress he was nominated 
for the lieutenant-governorship of the State, but was 
defeated by the Anti-Renters, at that time a prominent 
disturbing element in New York politics. In the suc- 
ceeding year he was renominated for the same office, and 
was now triumphantly elected, receiving a majority of 
thirty thousand votes. After serving one year in this 
office, he was, in 1848, nominated and elected to the 
governorship, and served one term as Governor of New 
York State. This was followed by an election, in 185 i, 
to the high office of United States Senator, which he 
filled during the stormy period intervening between that 
date and 1857. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 
the opening step towards tlie war, was opposed by him. 
On the formation of the Republican party, in 1856, he 
joined its ranks, the old Whig party having vanished 
from national politics. He took no prominent part, how- 
ever, in Republican politics. 

After the close of his senatorial term, in 1857, Mr. 
Fish went to Europe, in which country he remained for 
something over a year. On his return he retired from 
activity in politics, though he worked earnestly for the 
election of Lincoln to the Presidency. On the outbreak 
of the civil war Mr. Fish's long experience in public 
affairs rendered him highly useful in the State councils, 
and he was appointed on the commission to work for the 
conservation of law and order in New York. In this 
service his energy, wisdom, and patriotism were con- 
spicuously evident. 

In 1862, Mr. Fish and Bishop Ames were appointed 
commissioners to visit the United States prisoners held 
by the Confederacy, and to " relieve their necessities and 
provide for their comfort." The authorities at Rich- 
mond, however, refused them access to the Confederate 
States, but made to them a proposition for the exchange 
of prisoners, the result being the formation of a system 
of exchange which continued till the end of the war. 
During the remainder of the period of conflict Mr. Fish 




was frequentl}- cmplo)-ed on delicate missions, and was 
one of those on whom President Lincoln depended for 
advice. His services were of much utility in the devel- 
opment of a spirit of loyal public opinion in his native 
city. 

At the close of the war Mr. Fish retired from public 
life, and during the several years that followed devoted 
himself to the practice of his profession. To all ap- 
pearance the remainder of his life was to be passed 
outside the field of politics, and in that of quiet citizen- 
ship and forensic labors. But destiny willed otherwise. 
General Grant had made his acquaintance and felt the 
highest respect for his abilities. On the election of the 
successful warrior to the Presidency he appointed Elihu 
B. Washburn Secretary of State. This was admittedly 
a temporary appointment, Mr. Washburn's health being 
so feeble that he was obliged to retire from the position 
after a w-eek's incumbenc3\ Mr. Fish was appointed to 
succeed him. This was an unlooked-for honor, which 
his first inclination induced him to decline. He was, 
however, induced to accept at the strong personal re- 
quest of the President, and served as Secretary of State 
during Grant's two terms, from 1869 to 1877. 

In this elevated office Mr. Fish's statesmanlike ability 
rendered his services of the highest importance to his 
countrj-. Many important questions were settled by him 
in a manner most honorable to the United States. He 
was the warm personal friend and closest adviser and 
confidant of the President, who had so high an opinion 
of his abilities that he earnestly advocated his nomination 
to the Presidency. The convention, however, thought 
differently, and Mr. Fish again retired from public to 
private life. He died in New York, September 7, 1893. 
He was an ideal diplomatist and thorough gentleman of 
the old school, agreeable and popular in his association 
with all classes, and possessed of hosts of friends. 



14 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




RICHARD W DANA. 

Richard Perkins Dana, bmn May 28, 1810, and wlio 
died in tiiis city Februarys 17, 1894, a son of the Rev. 
Samuel Dana, of Marblehead, Massachusetts, was a 
direct descendant of Richard Dana, who came from 
England and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 
year 1640. He brought with him the coat of arms 
still retained by the family. He was a man of means 
and consideration, and, as the record reads, had his large 
estate in Market Street (Cambridge), which street was 
laid out wholly through his estate in 1656. This property 
is still in the family. 

Richard P. Dana, the subject of this notice, gave in- 
dications in his early youth of the literary tastes, love of 
research, and thirst for knowledge that developed greatly 
later in life, and was preparing for college when he was 
induced by his uncle, Mr. Israel Thorndikc, to enter the 
counting-house of the latter in Boston, and subsequently 
made several voyages for him in the capacity of super- 
cargo, a position considered enviable bj- the young men 
of that day. In these voj-ages tiiere was full scope for 
his fondness for reading, and he kept minute journals, all 
of which are interesting for truthful (lescri])tions of life 
on the ocean, of the seamanship of those days, when 
sailors were not merely painters and scrapers, and of 
remote and then almost unknown places which he visited. 
In these voyages he twice made the tour of the world, 
and fourteen passages, by steamer, through the Red Sea, 
his journals mentioning more particularly what came 



under his observation in the Mediterranean ports and in 
the principal cities of Chili and Peru. His travels made 
him familiar also with the places of most interest in Egj'pt, 
India, and other parts of Asia. His descriptions of 
Cairo, Bombay, Calcutta, and other Oriental places are 
interesting in that they show more acquaintance with life 
under the conditions there existing than any books of 
travel known to the writer of these lines. 

In 1S35, Mr. Dana married Miss Juliette H. Starr, of 
New York, of an old and well-known Connecticut family, 
and he establishctl his residence in that cit)-. Having 
before this formed business relations that compelled more 
or less residence in China, he now passed much of his 
time there, principally in Canton and Hong-Kong. His 
journal and letters of this period comprise a comjjlete 
history of the Chinese empire and its relations with 
Western nations. The study Mr. Dana had made of the 
Chinese character much interested Lord Elgin, when in 
China in 1858, endeavoring, as English ambassador, to 
settle the difficulties which had grown out of the seizure 
of the lorcha "Arrow," at Canton, in 1856, and the 
friendship then formeil was renewed in i860, when Lord 
Elgin returned to China as ambassador to the court of 
Pekin. 

After Mr. Dana retired from business in 1862 and 
returned to New York, he passed most of his time in his 
well-selected library, with occasional visits to Europe. 

He was for sixteen years a director in the New York 
Juvenile Asylum, and at his resignation was made an 
honorary member of that institution. For several )-ears 
he was one of the governors of the Woman's Hospital, 
New York, (^f conservative \ie\vs, he took a deep in- 
terest in e\erything relating to the welfare of his country 
and of mankind. A believer in the atl\-ancement of the 
human race to the highest degree of intellectual devel- 
opment, his own influence was always exerted to advance 
what was good and noble and for the best interests of 
mankind. With a remarkable memory and a surprising 
knowledge of the noted men and events of all ages, his 
character and actjuirements brought him into contact 
with man)- men of note in the I'^ast and in Europe. He 
particularly aiimired the character and energy of Gari- 
baldi, with whom he was well acquainted. 

Mr. Dana had three children, Richard Starr Dana, 
William Starr Dana, Comnianiier U. S. Navy, deceased, 
and Mrs. Egbert L. Viele. 

In appearance Mr. Dana was tall, well made, witli 
regular features ; the typical Norman. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



IS 



JOHN BROUGHAM. 

John Brougham, for many years one of the leading 
actors and playwrights of New York, was of Irish origin, 
being born in Dublin, May 9, 18 10. His father died 
while he was still a child, but despite this he enjoyed 
good educational advantages, being entered as a student 
at Trinity College, Dublin, from which he graduated with 
honor. After leaving college he took up the study of 
medicine, but the family fortunes failing, he found himself 
obliged to seek some more immediate source of liveli- 
hood, and made his way to London, where for some time 
he taught drawing, and then found his true vocation in 
the life of an actor. 

His first appearance on the stage was at Tottenham 
Theatre in 1830, the play being " Tom and Jerry;" thence 
he went to the Olj'mpic Theatre, and while engaged there 
first tried his hand as a playwright, producing a burlesque, 
entitled " Life in the Clouds," for W. E. Burton, then 
comparativel}- new to the stage, but afterwards to become 
famous as a comedian and a favorite on the New York 
stage. He also lent his aid to Dion Boucicault in the 
composition of the sparkling comedy of " London Assur- 
ance " 

Brougham's position in the theatrical world rapidly 
improved, he soon after becoming manager of the London 
L\xeum, for which he wrote a number of successful 
plays. In his management, however, he proved unsuc- 
cessful, and, finding himself involved in debt, he left 
England for America in 1842, hoping in this new land to 
retrieve his fallen fortunes. His late stage associate, Mr. 
Burton, had preceded him to this country about eight 
years before, and was now manager of a theatre in New 
York, in which Brougham, after making a professional 
tour through the leading cities of the country, settled 
down for an extended engagement. While connected 
with Burton's Theatre he wrote a number of telling 
comedies, among them " The Irish Emigrant," " All's 
Fair in Love," and others. 

In 1850 he opened an establishment of his own, entitled 
Brougham's Lyceum, which soon fell into the hands of 
James William Wallack, and was thenceforth known as 
Wallack's Theatre. In connection with this establish- 
ment Brougham's industry as a dramatist continued, he 
writing and bringing out several new plays, most of which 
met with some fair measure of success. He continued at 
Wallack's until the season of 1856-1857, during which 
he assumed the management of the old Bowery Theatre. 
At the end of the season, however, he returned to 
Wallack's. 

During all the years here rapidly passed over 
Brougham's activity in the creation of new plays con- 
tinued, dramas flowing in quick succession from his facile 




pen, and all of them finding ready acceptance on the 
stage. Some of these, such as " Pocahontas" and " Co- 
lumbus," were extravagant burlesques ; but others, among 
them " Romance and Reality" and " Playing with Fire," 
were of a much higher order, and achieved merited 
success. In 1861 he returned to London, and remained 
there for five years, playing with much appreciation and 
still busily producing new dramas, some of them being 
dramatizations of Miss Braddon's novels. Chief among 
these London productions was " The Duke's Motto," 
written for Mr. Charles Fechter, and forming one of the 
leading plays in that distinguished actor's repertory. 

In 1866, Mr. Brougham found his way again to New 
York, where he plajed three years of successful engage- 
ments, and then, inspired with his old idea of conducting 
a theatre of his own, opened Brougham's Theatre, which 
he handled with his usual bad luck as a manager. Re- 
ceding from his unprofitable enterprise, he set out on a 
professional tour through the country, and for several 
years continued in this line of business, being everywhere 
well received by American audiences. He returned from 
his last tour to New York in 1877, only to find that he 
was penniless, his fortune having been lost through the 
failure of his banker. His friends in this dilemma came 
to the rescue of the old actor, and gave a series of enter- 
tainments which realized $10,000, which was invested in 
an annuity in his favor. He was not to enjoy it long, 
dying in New York, June 7, 1 880. As an actor Brougham 
was particularly successful in the delineation of Irish 
characters, from the gentleman to the pea.sant. Through- 
out life he manifested much versatility of talent, both as 
an actor and a playwright. In addition to his plaj-s he 
produced several volumes of miscellanies. 



i6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HORACE B. CLAFLIN. 

Horace Bingham Clafijn was born at Milford, Massa- 
chusetts, December i8, i8ii. At an early age he acted 
as clerk for his father, who was a large land-owner and 
keeper of a country store. In 1831, when twenty years 
of age, young Claflin joined with his brother and brother- 
in-law in buying out the business of his father (who pro- 
vided iiis sons S3COO for tiiis purpose). At that time 
intoxicating liquors were commonly sold in stores, but 
the new proprietors at once set the liquor casks on tap 
and let all the liquor run out. This radical step certainly 
did not deter customers, for the business rapidly became 
prosperous, and in a year's time they were able to open 
a branch store in Worcester, which also was very suc- 
cessful, and in time did the largest business in New 
England outside of Boston. After a period of ten years 
Horace withdrew from the Worcester business (he had 
long before retired from the original store) with a capital 
fund of §30,000. 

In 1843 he removed to New York, where he formed 
the firm of Bulkley & Claflin, to engage in the wholesale 
dry-goods business. Here also he was very successful. 
On the retirement of Mr. Bulkle)-, in 1851, he took in 
other partners, the firm-name now becoming Claflin. 
Mellen & Co. The business steadily increased until its ' 
transactions covered the entire country, and particularly 
ti)e Southern States, in which the house did a very large 
trade. Yet, despite this, Mr. Claflin did not hesitate, in 
1859, to attend a great anti-slavery gathering at Castle 
Garden, where he announced himself as an uncompro- 
mising friend of freedom and opponent of human skuery. 

On the outbreak of the war the firm suddenly found 



half its assets locked up in the Southern States, and was 
forced to suspend. It readily obtained an extension from 
most of its creditors, at a reduction of thirty per cent, in 
their accounts, but a number of large creditors, to whom 
;S 1, 000,000 were owing, refused, and subsequently sold 
their claims to Mr. Claflin's friends at fift\' per cent, dis- 
count. The firm resumed business, and with such great 
success that it soon began to redeem its extended paper, 
and long before their maturity had paid all its notes, with 
the additional thirty per cent, and full interest. Mr. 
Claflin then sought those creditors who had sold their 
claims, and paid them their fifty per cent, loss, with full 
interest to date of settlement. It was an example of 
scrupulous mercantile honor such as is seldom experi- 
enced. 

The business, fortunately, permitted this honorable 
dealing, it growing to enormous proportions during the 
war. In one year its sales are said to have reached the stu- 
pendous total of $70,000,000. In 1864, Mr. Mellen with- 
drew, the firm-name then becoming H. B. Claflin & Co. 
Its business continued great, though not up to the 
enormous war figures. In 1873, when the country experi- 
enced another sharp financial crisis, the firm, though 
holding a great quantity of good assets, was forced to ask 
an extension of five months. At once Mr. Claflin reduced 
the prices of his great stock of goods, and had such large 
sales that he was able to pay every note before maturit\-. 

His fortune continued to increase until it grew to great 
proportions ; yet lie was aKva\-s generous and kindly in 
disposition, and was so liberal with his business associates 
and employes that not onl\- the former grew rich, but 
man)' of the latter were able to retire from the cares of 
business with ample fortunes. Nor was his beneficence 
confined to those directly connected with him in business, 
but nian\- struggling young business men outside were 
assisted anti placed on their feet by his generous aid. 

At one time an effort was made to blackmail him bj- a 
party dealing largel)- in chea[) silks, some of which he 
was induced to handle. The charge was made against 
his and other firms that thc\- had defrauded the govern- 
ment of duties. Several of the parties thus charged com- 
promised with the blackmailers, but Claflin & Co. sternly 
refused to be j)laced in any such false position, and suc- 
cessfully defended themselves in three separate suits, in 
which their honesty in the transactions was so fully de- 
monstratetl that their opponents withdrew in dismay. 
The house recei\ed the public thanks of the merchants 
of New York for its vigorous resistance to this well- 
organized scheme of villainy. 

Mr. Claflin died at his residence in Brooklyn, November 
14, 1885. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



17 



HENRY WARD BEECHER. 

Henrv Ward Beechek, the most famous of a family 
widely noted for intellectual ability, was born at Litch- 
field, Connecticut, June 24, i8i3,thc son of Rev. Lj-man 
Beecher, one of the most notable pulpit orators of his 
time. Hi.s education began in village and district schools, 
in w hich, it is said, he showed a greater inclination to 
mischief than to stud\-. Subsequently, on the removal 
of the family to Boston, he entered the Boston Latin 
School, and later Mount Pleasant School, Amherst. Li 
1830 he entered Amherst College, in which he soon 
gained a reputation for unusual ability. W'hile there his 
thoughts turned strongly to religious subjects, and on 
graduating, in 1834, he entered Lane Theological Semi- 
nary, in Cincinnati, of which his father had become presi- 
dent. After completing his studies there, he served for 
a time as editor of the Cincinnati Journal, and in 1837 
began his life in the ministry at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 
where he remained two years. 

The young pastor's next field of duty was in Indian- 
apolis, where he remained for a number of years, gain- 
ing such reputation as a brilliant and original speaker 
that in the end he was asked to accept the pastorage of 
Ph-mouth Congregational Church, at Brooklyn, whither 
he removed October 16, 1847. I" this pastoral charge 
the remainder of his life was passed, and here his power 
and originality as a preacher gained him such world-wide 
fame as to overshadow his services and abilities in the 
fields of secular oratory^ reform, journalism, and author- 
ship, though in all these directions his power was notable. 
His first published volume was entitled " Lectures to 
Young Men," and consisted of a series of sermons 
preached in his early ministry against intemperance and 
kindred vices. In his early editorial duties he strongly 
opposed slaver}', and in 1856 took an active part, b\- 
writing and speaking, in support of the Republican candi- 
date for President; while during the war (in 1863) he 
used his oratorial powers in support of the cause of his 
country before large audiences in England. 

In addition to his editorship of the Cincinnati Journal, 
Mr. Beecher served about 1840 as editor of the Western 
Farmer and Gardener, and edited the Nez<j York Inde- 
pendent {rom 1 86 1 to 1863, and the Christian Union from 
1S70 to 1881. In 1874 a great scandal overshadow^ed 
the popularit}- of Mr. Beecher and for years injuriously 
affected his influence. Theodore Tiiton, a member of his 
church, brought against him a charge of adultery with 
his own wife. There followed an investigation of the 
charge by a committee of the congregation, resulting in 
an unanimous report that the charge was groundless. 
Subsequently Mr. Beecher instituted legal proceedings 
against Mr. Tiiton, which ended in a disagreement of 




the jury, nine being for acquittal and three for con- 
viction. Two ecclesiastical investigations followed, the 
last by a great council of Congregational churches and 
ministers. They both expressed their confidence in Mr. 
Beecher's integrit}-, and the accused preacher gradually 
regained the position of eminence he had temporarily 
lost. 

In addition to his editorial labors, Mr. Beecher was an 
active writer, and published a considerable number of 
works, principally composed of collections of lectures 
and sermons, and embracing also a " Life of Christ" and 
a novel named " Norwood," which is full of that spark- 
ling play of thought and wit which gave such point to 
his addresses. 

Mr. Beecher's lectures and sermons were delivered 
either extemporaneously or from \ery brief notes. The 
elements of his power over his audiences consisted in a 
warm poetic imagination, an earnest pathos, a ready 
sense of humor, a rich and sj-mpathetic voice, a warm 
sympathy with all mankind, dramatic vigor of utterance 
and action, and a profound and living faith in God, 
mingled with a liberalism concerning certain theological 
tenets which won him the appreciation of the great bod)- 
of liberal thinkers. He withdrew in 1882 from the Con- 
gregational Association, giving as his reason for so doing 
that he wished to relieve his brethren in the ministry from 
all feeling of responsibility for his theological views, one 
of which was that the first chapter of Genesis was legen- 
dary, and that the doctrine of absolute inspiration of the 
Scriptures could not be maintained. He visited Great 
Britain in the summer of 1866, where he delivered 
numerous addresses. He died soon after his return, on 
March, 8, 1887. 



I8 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




SAMUHL J. riLDi;N. 

Samuki. Jonks Tii.dkn, an Amciican statesman of 
much celebrity, was born at New Lebanon, New York, 
February 9, 1814, and was educated at Yale College and 
the University of New York, though his studies were 
interfered with by ill health, lie afterwards studied law, 
and rose rapidly to a high rank before the bar of New 
York, continuing actively in practice till the period of the 
beginning of the war, when he first entered upon a 
political career. 

He had manifested a fondness for politics from boy- 
hood, and soon after liis graduation from the University 
of New York, in 1837, began writing political articles for 
the press, from the Democratic stand-point, his attention 
being given to financial and economical topics. Some of 
these papers were circulated as campaign documents. 
In 1844 he established the Moniiiii; Ncivs, a partisan 
newspaper, which he edited through the Presidential 
campaign of that year. This service as editor was 
followed by a brief one as legislator, as a member of the 
New York Assembly. At the end of this jieriod of 
public .service Mr. Tilden entered again ujjon the active 
practice of his profession, in which he gained the reputa- 
tion of possessing rare analytical powers and of " perfec- 
tion of method" in the handling of witnesses. 

On the outbreak of the civil war he was accused of 
disloyalty to the Union, but he proved his loyalty by the 
declaration that Northern Democrats could not be ex- 
pected to hold the government while the Southern ones 
were seeking to destroy it, and that he would sustain 
President Lincoln in case of hostilities as he would have 
su.stained President Jack.son. After i860 he took an 
active interest in the politics of the State, and in 1866 
became chairman of the Democratic State committee. 



He held this position undisturbed until 1869, when an 
attempt was made to remove him from it by the Tweed 
ring, then all-powerful in the city. A sharp contest en- 
sued, Tilden becoming the soul of the legal attacks upon 
the ring, to whose overthrow he devoted si.xteen months . 
of time, " to the total surrender of professional business." 
He worked \igorously for the remo\al of the corrupt 
judges who were the tools of the ring, and in the " ring 
trials" which followed he succeeded in successful!},- ascer- 
taining, and demonstrating from bank-books, the principle 
upon which the spoils of office had been dixided among 
the villainous politicians who held New York so long in 
their grasp. He afterwards published an account of the 
steps he had taken for the overthrow of the ring in " The 
New York City Ring: its Origin, Maturity, and Fall" 

(>873)- 

Tilden's strenuous efforts in this direction secured 

him the Democratic nomination for goxernor in 1874, 
and his election b\- a large majority over General Dix, 
his opponent. In this position he found himself con- 
fronted by another ring, that which for years had been 
making money bj' corrupt practices out of the State 
canals. This, too, he attacked, and succeedetl in breaking 
it up. 

In 1876 he recei\e<l the nomination of the Democratic 
national convention for the Presidency, the Republicans 
nominating General Haj-es, Governor of (^hio. The 
election that followed was one memorable in the jiolitical 
history of the countr}-. The result of the election was 
disputed, each candidate ha\ing recci\ed about an equal 
number of electoral votes outside the three contested 
States of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. The 
Democrats had a majority in these States on the face of 
the returns, but the returning boards, by rejecting votes 
which they claimed were the result of fraud or intimida- 
tii III. ga\ e the States to the Republicans. The emergency 
was one such as never before had occurred in the country, 
feeling ran high between the two parties, and the dispute 
was only finalh' settled In- the decision of an "electoral 
commission," to whose a])pointment both jiarlies had 
consented. The conmiission dccidetl all the disputed 
cases in favor of the Republican candidate, and TiUlen 
was defeated. 

In the ensuing Presidential contest he refused to be a 
candidate, and passed the remainder of his life on his 
estate of Greystone, near Yonkers, New York, where he 
died August 4, 18S6. Of the great fortune which he 
had accumulated, he devised the greater part (about 
jS6,000,000) to trustees for public purposes. I lis will, 
however, was called in (juestion as being legalK' inaccu- 
rate ; but of the sum invoked it is proposed to applj- 
about $2,000,000 to the founding of a great public library 
in New York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



19 



MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP KEARNY. 

Major-General Philip Kearny was born in New- 
York on tlic 2d of June, 181 5, and died near Chantill\% 
Virginia, September i, 1862. He was graduated at Co- 
lumbia College in 1833, and then studied law. In 1837 
he accepted a commission in the First Dragoons, and was 
stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, serving on 
General Henry Atkinson's staff He was sent to Europe 
by the War Department in 1839 to examine the tactics 
of the French cavalry service, and for the thorough accom- 
plishment of this purpose entered the cavalry school in 
Saunuir. After si.x months of this experience he went to 
Algiers as a volunteer with the First Chasseurs d'Afrique, 
and served with Colonel Lc Fays de Bourjolli. He made 
the passage of the Atlas Mountains and participated in the 
engagements at the Plains of Metidjah and of the Chelif 
at the siege of Milianah, and passage of the Mousaia. 
His daring exploits during these campaigns attracted the 
attention of the French army. In the autumn of 1840 
he returned to the United States, and was almost im- 
mediately appointed aide-de-camp to General Alexander 
Macomb, holding this appointment until the death of the 
commander-in-chief For some months he served at the 
cavalry barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, but was soon 
recalled to Washington to serve on the staff of General 
Winfield Scott. In 1845 lie accompanied his uncle, 
General Kearny, on the march to the South Pass, which 
was the first expedition that penetrated so far from set- 
tlements into the Indian country. During the Mexican 
War, at the head of a magnificently-equipped company 
of cavalry, he operated at first along the Rio Grande, but 
later joined General Scott on his march to Mexico. His 
command served as the body-guard of the general-in- 
chief, and Kearny was promoted captain in December, 
1846. 

He took part in the battles of Contreras and Churu- 
busco, and at the close of the latter, as the Mexicans 
were retreating into the capital, Kearny, at the head of 
his dragoons, charged the enemy and followed them into 
the City of Mexico itself, but as he fell back he was 
shot in the left arm, which necessitated amputation. 
When General Oliver O. Howard lost his right arm at 
the battle of Fair Oaks, Kearny happened to be present 
when the amputation was performed, and Howard, look- 
ing up, said, " We'll buy our gloves together hereafter." 
A month later General Scott with his army entered the 
City of Mexico, but the first man who entered the gate 




of the captured capital, sword in hand, was Captain 
Kearny, who was rewarded with the brevet of major. 
Early in 185 i he went to California and was engaged in 
the campaign against the Rogue River Indians, but re- 
signed from the army in October, 185 1. He then made 
a trip art)und the world, and in 1859 he returned to 
France, joined the Chasseurs d'Afrique again, and par- 
ticipated in the war in Italy. At Solferino he was in the 
charge of the ca\alry. He recei\ed the cross of the 
Legion of Honor, being tiie first American honored as 
such for military service. In 1861, soon after the begin- 
ning of the civil war, he returned to the United States 
and tendered his services to the national government. 
He was made brigadier-general on the 17th of May, 1861, 
and assigned to the command of the First New Jersey 
Brigade, Arnn- of the Potomac. He was present at the 
battle of Williamsburg, wheic his timely arri\-al changed 
the repulse into \ictory, and ser\cd through the engage- 
ments in the Peninsula from the Rapidan to Warrenton. 
In May, 1862, he was given command of the Third 
Division, and was commissioned as major-general on the 
7th of July, 1862. He fought at the second battle of 
Bull Run. A few days later at Chantilly, while recon- 
noitring after placing his division, he penetrated into the 
Confederate lines and was shot. His remains were 
sent by General Lee, under a flag of truce, to General 
Hooker, and found their last resting-place in Trinity 
church-yard, New^ York City. 



20 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




AUGUST BELMONT. 

August Belmont, a proniiiKiit banker of New York, 
was a native of Germany, being born at Alzey, a town of 
Rhenish Ilcsse, on the Selz River, December 6, l8i6. 
He was educated at Frankfort, but his school hfe ended 
at an early age, he being, when fourteen years old, placed 
in the Rothschild banking house at Frankfort, to gain 
an education in the business to which his future life was 
to be devoted. He proved an efficient aid, and in 1833, 
when only seventeen years of age, was sent 1)\- his em- 
|)loyers — who must ha\c recognized unusual aptitude for 
financial business in their \outhful eniplo\e — to Naples, 
to attend tn tiic interests of the fiiin in that Italian city. ! 
In 1837, not yet having attainetl his majorit)', he was sent 
to Havana on the same responsible duty. He remained , 
there but a short period. The wrecking, by the loss of j 
its charter, of the United States Hank, and the wild .spirit 
of speculation which prevailed in tiie great American 
republic, had at that time produced their natural effect, a 
wide-spread financial panic, which imperiled all interests 
in that country. The young man was, therefore, soon 
after his arrival at Havana, instructed by the Rothschilds 
to proceed to New York and look after tiie interests of 
the firm in that city, which were threatened by the busi- 
ness depression. 

He was not long in New York before he (ieterniined 
to make the American metr()[)olis his future place of 1 
residence, a resolution of which he informed his em- 
ployers, who thereupon appointed him the American , 
representative of their banking business. With the Roths- 1 



childs for backing, Mr. Belmont was quickly able to 
establish a prosperous banking house, to which his 
marked talent for business brought rapid success, and 
eventuated in a steady growth of fortune. 

In 1844, Mr. Belmont received the appointment of 
consul-general of Austria for the port of New York, a 
position which he retained until 1850, when he resigned 
in consequence of his strong disapproval of the cruelties 
shown by the Austrian army in Hungarj' after the suppres- 
sion, with the aid of Russia, of the revolutionary revolt 
in that country. In 1853 he was appointed by the 
government of the United States its c/iarge d'ajfaiirs at 
the Hague, and in the following year was made resident 
minister in Holland. He retained this position of dignit)' 
until 1858, and while in this post negotiated an important 
consular convention and rendered other diplomatic service 
of utility to the United States government. For his 
valuable services thus rendered he received the special 
thanks of the United States Department of State. 

In i860 he was sent as a delegate to the Democratic 
national convention at Charleston, and supported there 
Stephen A. Douglas as the nominee of the party for the 
Presidency. When a break took place in this convention, 
in consecjuence of strong differences of opinion between 
its Northern and Southern sections, resulting in the 
withdrawal of the delegations from a number of the 
Southern States, he took an active part in the adjourned 
meeting of the convention at Baltimore which subse- 
quenth' nominated Douglas. He was so active and effi- 
cient on this occasion that he was chosen by the mem- 
bers of the con\ention to fill the post of chairman of 
the Democratic national committee, a highly important 
position in the ])art\- organization. This post he held 
until 187:!, satisfactoriK' fulfilling its duties, and remained 
an influential worker in the party councils until after the 
Presidential election of 1876, after which he withdrew 
from an\' active participation in political affairs. 

Mr. Belmont was interested in manj- of the local affairs 
of New York, being a member of the Society for the 
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other associations, 
and widely known as a liberal ]5atron of the fine arts and 
the turf He gathered one of the most notable collcc- 
ticins of paintings in the United .States, in which -*^^c 
numerous pictures of great value and imlicating^-vnnc 
artistic taste in their possessor. In the direction of the 
turf he was |)resiilent of the American Jockc)- Club for 
man)' years, and owned several stables of racing and 
breeding horses, taking the greatest interest in the develop- 
ment of the American racer. Mr. Belmont died at New 
York, November 24, 1890. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



21 



WILLIAM M. EVARTS. 

William Maxwell Evarts, eminent as a lawj'er and 
statesman, was a native of Boston, where he was born, 
February 6, 1818. His father, Jeremiah Evarts, was a 
well-known philanthropist of that city and editor of The 
Paiioplist, a religious monthh-, and for man)- j-ears was 
secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for 
Foreign Missions. The son was educated at Yale, where 
he became noted for his application to study, particularly 
to the classics, which had a fascination for liis mind. He 
graduated in 1837, and in the following year entered 
Harvard law school. After a \-ear's stud}' here he went 
to New York, where he remained two years in the office 
of Daniel Lord, after which he was admitted to the bar. 

Shortly afterwards he entered the legal firm of J. 
Prescott Hall. He quickly gained a reputation for 
unusual ability, great industry, and much modest}-. He 
was earnest and conscientious in the preparation of cases, 
and was not long in securing a position among the rising 
men of the bar. In 1849, when Mr. Hall was made 
United States Attorne}'-General, Mr. Evarts acted as his 
deput}-, and continued to do so till the winter of 1852— 
1853. In this position he took part in many important 
suits, gaining reputation in the "Cleopatra expedition," a 
suit concerning a vessel which had been stopped when 
preparing to sail for an invasion of Cuba. This he con- 
ducted with much energy and ability. His conduct of 
the " Lemmon slave case" also elicited admiration. Mr. 
Lemmon had landed in New York with some slaves, 
whom he proposed to take to Texas. Their release was 
demanded, and Mr. Evarts, as their principal counsel, 
was successful in gaining them their freedom. 

In i860 he became prominent in the political world by 
his advocacy of the name of William II. Seward before 
the Republican national convention of that year as a 
candidate for President. In 1861 he entered into a con- 
test in the New York Legislature for the L^nited States 
Senatorship, Horace Greeley being his opponent. The 
contest was long continued, and finally ended in the with- 
drawal of Mr. Plvarts and the election of Ira Harris. In 
1862 he conducted before the Supreme Court of the 
United States, on the side of the government, a case 
concerning the treatment of captured vessels as maritime 
prizes. 

We have named but a few of the important suits at 
law in which Mr. Evarts took part. But his greatest 
opportunity for distinction took place in 1868, on the 
occasion of the impeachment trial of President Johnson, 
in which Mr. Evarts was retained as the principal counsel 
of the defendant in this greatest of American cases. In 
the conduct of this highly important trial he displayed 
the greatest power and sagacit}-, while his speech for the 




defence was a masterpiece of learning, research, satire, 
and eloquence, such as has been rarel}' equaled in the 
history of jurisprudence. President Johnson rewarded 
him for his services in his acquittal by appointing him 
Attorney-General of the L^nited States, which post he 
filled till the end of the administration. 

In 1 87 1 he became concerned in another affair of 
world-wide import, being appointed by President Grant 
one of the commissioners at the Geneva arbitration of the 
" Alabama Claims." His able effort here is part of the 
history of our country. His presentation of the case for 
the United States was a masterpiece of clear exposition 
and apt illustration. In 1 874-1 875 he acted as senior 
counsel for Henry Ward Beecher in the famous Beecher- 
Tilton libel suit. His summing up of the case for the de- 
fence in this trial was remarkable for the endurance he 
displayed for one of his age. It occupied eight days, at 
the end of which time he appeared still fresh and vig- 
orous, while most of the others concerned in the case 
seemed worn out. In 1877 he was the advocate of the 
Republican party before the electoral commission whose 
verdict placed General Hayes in the Presidential chair. 
In forming his cabinet the new President selected Mr. 
Evarts as his Secretary of State. In this high office he 
exhibited marked ability. He raised the standard of the 
consular service, and originated the very useful series of 
consular reports, which have since been kept up. In 
1 88 1 he was sent to Paris as a delegate to the Interna- 
tional Monetary Conference, and in 1885 became a mem- 
ber of the Senate of the United States. Mr. Evarts has a 
high reputation for his powers as an after-dinner orator, 
in which his display of humor and pleasant satire is un- 
usuallv fine. 



22 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




DAVID DUDLEY FIELD. 

The eminent jurist whose life history we lia\c now to 
sketch was a brother of Cyrus W. Field, elsewhere de- 
scribed in tills volume, and was born at Haddam, Con- 
necticut, Februarj' 13, 1805. He j^raduated at Williams 
College in 1825, studied law at Albany and New York, 
and was admitted to the New York bar in 1828. He 
early became prominent in practice, and continued an 
enthusiastic student of law, to whose reform he was after- 
wards to contribute so greatly. His public work in this 
direction be;4an in 1839, when he published his "Letter 
on the Reform of the Judiciary System," which was fol- 
lowed by a full expression of his opinions on this subject 
before a committee of the State Legislature. 

In 1841 lie prepared and introduced into the Legisla- 
ture three bills relating to the .same subject, but on these 
no definite action was taken. Five years later appeared 
his notable pamphlet, "The Reorganization of the Judi- 
ciary." This was very widely distributed, and exercised 
an important influence on the Constitutional Convention 
of 1846, which recommended a general code and a re- 
form of court practice in accordance with his suggestions. 
In 1847 he published "What shall be done with the 
Practice of the Courts? .Shall it be wholly reformed? 
Questions addressed to Lawyers." The result of his 
active advocacy of this subject was liis appointment as a 
commissioner to reform the practice in the State of New 
York, under which he immediately began to form a code 
of procedure. The sections of this code were presented 
from time to time to the Legislature until 1850, when his 



completed " Codes of Ci\il and Criminal Practice" were 
laid before that body and adopted b\- it. 

The s\-stem of law thus formulated met with such 
general approval that the New York code has since that 
date been accepted by State after State, with minor vari- 
ations to suit State requirements, until it is now in force 
in twenty-one States and three Territories of the Union. 
It also was made the basis of a legal reform in England, 
and was adopted in several of the British colonies. In 
1857, Mr. P'ield was appointed by the State Legislature 
the head of a commission to codif\- the whole bod\- of 
laws, and ])repare a political, a penal, and a civil code, 
which was tlesigned to include the substance of all pre- 
ceding enactments and also the unw ritten common law. 
This was an inmiense task, to which the indefatigable 
jurist devoted twenty-five years of persistent thought and 
labor. Within this period he covered the whole legal 
province, and eventually presented to the people in com- 
pact and orderly form the whole bod\- of the laws of the 
State. 

Ill 1866, ^Ir. I'^ielil presented to the British Associa- 
tion, during its session of that \ear, a proposition for a 
general revision of the law of nations. The proposition 
W'as favorably received, and a committee appointeil for 
its consideration. The work of this committee, however, 
was performed by Mr. Field, who, in 1873, after seven 
years of thought and work on the subject, presented to 
the Social Science Congress a complete code of interna- 
tional law. This able production attracted the attention 
of jurists ever)-whcre, and aroused an active international 
interest, its result being the formation of an .\ssociation 
for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations. 
Mr. Field was elected its first presitlent. In the subse- 
quent deliberations of this body the principal subject of 
discussion has been the substitution of international arbi- 
tration for war. If this important measure should prevail, 
Mr. Field would deserve to be hailed as one of the great 
forces in the ethical progress of the world. 

Politically Mr. Field was a Democrat, but he worked 
ardently for the election of I'remont to the Presidency, 
and during the civil war was one of the most earnest 
of Unionists. In 1876 he served two months in Con- 
gress, filling the unexpired term of Smith P.ly. I le was a 
ready speaker, and in his time delivered man\- addresses ; 
was a contributor to periodical literature ; and, in addition 
j to his numerous legal productions, published in 1836 a 
volume entitled " Sketches o\'er the Sea," which was 
widely read. Me died at New \'ork, .Ajiril 13, 1894, in 
the ninetieth \'ear of his age. 



MAKERS OF XEW YORK. 



23 



REAR-ADMIRAL STEPHEN DECATUR TRENCHARD. 

Rkak-Admiral Stephen Decatur Tkexchard was 
descended from the Trenchard f.miil\- of Dorset, Eng- 
land. His great-grandfather, George Trenchard, was 
attorney-general of West Jersey under the Crown, but 
he drew his sword in favor of the Colonies. The ad- 
miral's father. Captain Edward Trenchard, served in the 
war with Tripoli, and was one of the commanders of 
Commodore Chauncey's flag-ship " Madison" in the 
War of 1812. Admiral Trenchard was born in Brook- 
lyn, New York, in 1818. He received his appointment 
as midshipman on October 23, 1834, having previously 
made a cruise as acting midshipman under Commodore 
Downes. His first cruise was on board the " Consti- 
tution." In 1836 he served in the West Indies and 
Florida War. He was promoted to master in 1842, and 
served in the Coast Survey from 1845 to 1846. While 
on this duty he was aboard the brig " Washington ' when 
she was wrecked off the coast of North Carolina. Dur- 
insf the Mexican War he was lieutenant on board the 
U. S. S. " Saratoga." In 1856, while in command of the 
U. S. surveying steamer " Vixen," he rescued the crew 
of the British bark " Adieu," of Gloucester, Massachu- 
setts, for which service he received a sword from Queen 
Victoria. Admiral Trenchard was flag-lieutenant to 
Commodore Tatnall, in tlic luist India Squadron, in 
1858, and was wounded when the commodore visited 
Sir Admiral Hope, at the battle of the Pei-ho River. 
He had just returned from China when the war was 
declared. On April 19, 1861, he sailed under sealed 
orders from the Navy Department, in command of the 
" Keystone State," destined for Norfolk, where she ren- 
dered much assistance with the tug-boat " Yankee" in 
towing out the " Cumberland" and taking the loyal 
officers and men of the Norfolk station to Washington. 
Lieutenant Trenchard received a letter of thanks from 
Secretary Welles for this service. On Ma\- 25 following 
he assumed command of the "^Rhode Island," which 
was first used as a special despatch and supply steamer, 
but was afterwards converted into a hea\ily-armed cruiser, 
and ordered to the North Atlantic Squadron on Novem- 
ber 28, 1862. While taking the "Monitor" from Fort 
Monroe that noble vessel foundered off Cape Hatteras. 
The " Rhode Island's" boats, notwithstanding the heavy 
sea, succeeded in rescuing nearlj' all the " Monitor's" 
crew. On February 12, 1863, Commander Trenchard 
received orders to cruise after the " Alabama" and other 
privateers. In May of the same year the " Rhode 
Island" was attached to Admiral Walker's squadron, and 
a short time to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 




In November following she was ordered to the North 
Atlantic fleet, and became one of Admiral Porter's squad- 
ron before Fort Fisher. The " Rhode Island" was one 
of the vessels that assisted in landing General Terry's 
siege-guns, and General Abbott sent a letter of thanks 
for this service to Commander Trenchard and officers. 
In the engagement at Fort Fisher the " Rhode Island's" 
guns were trainetl on Batter}' Lamb, and shot awa\- the 
flag-staff of the mound. After the reduction of Fort 
Fisher, Commander Trenchard was ordered, as senior 
officer, to command the convoy fleet which protected the 
Pacific Mail steamers going through the Southwest Pass. 
The " Rhode Island," as a cruiser, captured five blockade- 
runners. 

After the war Coinmamler Trenchard was on tlut\- at 
the Brookl)-n Nav}--Yard. As captain he commanded 
the flag-ship " Lancaster," of the South Atlantic Squad- 
ron, 1 869-1 871. Returning to the United States, he re- 
ceived his promotion to the grade of commodore, and 
served as a member of the Board of Examiners at Wash- 
ington. His ne.Kt duty was in charge of the Light-House 
Department, head-quarters at Staten Island. In 1875 he 
was promoted to rear-admiral, and, after serving as chair- 
man of a special board at San Francisco, he was ordered 
to command the North Atlantic Squadron, the historic 
" Hartford" being his flag-ship. After serving on a spe- 
cial board at Washington, he was retired, according to the 
U. S. N. regulations, in Jul)-, iSSo, ha\-ing seen twenty- 
eight years' sea-service out of forty-five years in the navy. 

Admiral Trenchard was senior vice-commander of the 
New York Comniandery, Loyal Legion, 1879- 1880. 
He died in No\cmber, 1883. 



24 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




COLONEL AND BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL 
FITZ-JOHN I^ORTER. 

Colonel and Bkevist Bkujadikk-Gicnkkai, Fitz-John 
PoKTKK was born in New Hampshire in 1.S22. Me grad- 
uated from the Military Academy Jiil_\- i, 1S45, and 
was promoted the same day brevet second lieutenant 
Fourth Artiller)' ; second lieutenant June 18, 1846, and 
first lieutenant May 29, 1847. He is a son of Captain 
John Porter, U.S.N., and ncpiiew of Commodore David 
Porter, of " Essex" renown. He served at West Point 
as an assistant in the Department of Artillery and Ca\- 
alr)', and engaged in instructing tlie cadets during en- 
campment, and was later sent to join his regiment at Fort 
Monroe. In July, 1846, he joined tlie army operating 
against Mexico at Point Isabel, Texas, and .saw active 
service at Saitiilo in the same year. In January, 1847, 
he embarked at Brazos and accompanied General Scott's 
army, performing more or less service during the siege of 
Vera Cruz and the battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, 
Moh'no del Rey, and the siege of Chapultepec and tlic 
capture of the cit)' of Mexico. At Contreras, Porter's 
company recaptured two guns belonging to his regiment 
wiiich liad been taken at Bucna Vista. General Scott then 
mounted the company. At tiie last action during tlie war 
— the .sanguinar)' fight at the capture of the Garita of 
Belen — Porter was wounded, while tile other two officers 
of liis comjjany were killed, and twenty-seven out of thirty 
non-commissioned officers ami privates were killed or 
wounded. In 1849 he was assigned to duty at the Mili- 
tary Academy, wiiere he remained until 1855. Here lie 
occupied the positions successively of assistant instructor 
of natural and experimental philosophy, assistant instruc- 
tor of artiller)-, adjutant of the Military Academy, antl, 
finally, instructor of artillery anil cavalr_\-. I le served dur- 
ing the Kansas troubles. In 1857, while on duty at the 
head-quarters of the army in New N'ork City, i'orter was 



assigned to dut\' on the staff of General Albert S\dney 
Johnston, and accompanied that officer to Utah, enduring 
with him the hardships and annoyances of that campaign 
in the Rocky Mountains, and of two years' residence 
among the resentful and murderous Mormons. 

In the autumn of i860, Porter was assigned to ilut\- 
at the head-quarters of the army, in New York City, as 
assistant inspector-general, in which capacit)- in No\em- 
ber he inspected, by order of the War Department, the 
defences in Charleston harbor, and recommended that 
they should be strengthened and supplied with addi- 
tional force, ammunition, and provisions. As a result ot 
this inspection and of Major Porter's recommendations. 
Major Robert Anderson was placed in command of F'ort 
Moultrie, and carried out the plans recommended bj- 
Porter and arranged between them, to, at the proper 
time, abandon Moultrie and take possession of Sumter. 
The secession of the Southern States now began, and 
Major Porter w'as sent to Texas and to re-enforce the 
garrisons at Key West and Dry Tortugas, a task requir- 
ing great judgment, patience, and tact. In .April, 1S61, 
Portei' was on dut\- in the Adjutant-General's Office in 
Washington, when he was chosen b_\- the Secretar_\- 
of War, Hon. Simon Cameron, and General Scott, to 
superintend the protection of the railroad between Bal- 
timore and Harrisburg against Baltimore rioters, and 
maintain communication through lialtimore to Wash- 
ington. 

Major Porter was now appointed colonel of the I'"if- 
teenth Infantry, and shortl\- afterwards brigadier-general 
of volunteers. He ser\ed with the Arm_\- of the Potomac 
(commanding the I'ifth Corps) in the Peninsula, North- 
ern Virginia, and Maryland campaigns, and engaged in 
all the actions connected therewith. After passing 
thiciiL;]! the latter campaign, and returning with the 
army to l-"almoutli, Virginia, he was relieved from his 
command November 12, 1862, and tried at Washington, 
D. C, b)- a general court-martial, for disobedience of 
orders and general misconduct on the battle-field, — 
J offences said to h.i\e been connnitteil in the Northern 
'Virginia campaign under General Pope the |ire\i()us 
August in connection with the battle of second Bull 
Run, Virginia. 

The court-martial con\icted General Porter and sen- 
tenced him to be cashiered and forever prohibited from 
holding any office of profit or trust from the government. 
For fifteen years General Porter languished under the 
stigma of this sentence. At last he obtained a Board of 
General Officers to examine the matter b>' order of Presi- 
(1( lit I I.iycs. and this board fully exonerated him from all 
blame. In 1S85 a bill passed by Congress authorized 
the President to restore General Porter to the armj-, and 
he was restored and retired as a colonel in the arm\-, with 
his original commission dated May 14, 1861. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



ABRAM S. HEWITT. 

AnKAM Stevens Hewitt, ex-mayor of New York, was 
born at Haverstraw, New York, July 31, 1822. His 
mother's family, Garnier by name, were of old Huguenot 
stock, who had settled in Rockland County, New York, 
where their land was held b}' the family for five genera- 
tions. His father was a machinist, an immigrant to this 
country, where he assisted in putting up the first steam- 
engine works and in building the first steam-engine made 
wholly in America. For a time he was very successful 
in business, but was ruined by a fire which destroyed his 
works. He thereupon retired to his wife's ancestral 
farm, and here, in the old lug house which still stood 
upon the estate, the subject of our sketch was born. 

The bo)- spent his youthful da\'s partly on the farm, 
parti)- in New York, where his father was tr\'ing to re- 
establish himself in business. He obtained a prize 
scholarshiiJ in Columbia College, from a special exami- 
nation of public school graduates, and while at college 
supported himself by private teaching. He graduated 
at length at the head of his class, but with health and 
eyesight seriously impaired from over-intense applica- 
tion. His sight was never afterwards perfect. 

After his graduation he began the study of law, sup- 
porting himself b\- teaching in the college as acting pro- 
fessor of mathematics. He in this way saved about 
SiOOO, and with this money, in 1844, niade a journey 
to pAirope with a friend, Edward Cooper, son of Peter 
Cooper. On their return they were wrecked, and floated 
in an open boat for twelve hours before they were picked 
up by a passing vessel, which brought them to New 
York. 

Mr. Hewitt was admitted to the bar in 1844, but the 
imperfection of his sight forced him to give up this pro- 
fession, and it was then settled that he and his friend 
Edward Cooper shoukl embark in business together, 
Peter Cooper giving up to them the iron branch of his 
own business. In this new enterprise their success was 
marked, the firm becoming a pioneer in the successful 
manufacture of iron in the United States. They were the 
first to make iron girders and supports for fire-proof 
buildings, and employed a large force of workmen, at 
one time as many as three thousand. In 1878, Mr. 
Hewitt stated that since the panic year of 1873 his firm 
had done business at an annual loss of S 100,000, yet had 
kept their works in operation for the sake of keeping 
their plant in good condition and of giving employment 
to their hands. During their forty years of business 
enterprise the firm claimed to have made no profit in the 
business, and to have grown rich simpl)- b}- judicious 




outside investment of their capital and by purchases in 
anticipation of the future. Thus they made ^1,000,000 
by a large purchase of iron just before its great rise in 
value in 1879-1880. The works were never shut down, 
though occasionally run on half-time, and it was tiie 
policy of the firm to be always on the best terms with 
trade unions and labor organizations. The\- finally 
ow^ned and controlled large iron-works at Trenton ;uiil 
at several other places in New Jersey. 

In 1862, Mr. Hewitt \Msited England to learn the 
method of making gun-barrel iron, and the works were 
able to supply the government with this material during 
tlie remainder of the war. He also introduced the 
Martins-Siemens open-hearth process of steel-making. 

He was one of the trustees who devised the plan of the 
Cooper Union, and as secretary of the board managed 
its financial anil much of its educational affairs. In 1867 
he was appointed by the President one of the commis- 
sioners to \isit the Paris E.xposition to report on iron and 
steel. His report was translated into nearlj- all the 
European languages. In 1874 he became a member 
of Congress, where, with the exception of one term, he 
remained till 1 886. He was noted for his practical and 
common-sense views, his moderate conceptions, and 
advocacy of honest legislation regardless of party. In 
1876 he was a strong supporter of Tilden in the contest 
with Hayes, and advocated bold action by the Demo- 
cratic party. In 1886 he was elected mayor of New 
York, in opposition to Henry George and Theodore 
Roosevelt. He made an excellent reform maj-or. After 
his term of service he remained practicall}' out of politics. 



26 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GHNHRAl. UI.YSSES S. GRANT. 

Gkmckal Gkant, tlioii^r], not a New \'()ikcr during 
any loMjf period of liis life, has been prominently so since 
his death, his noljje monument in Riverside Park being a 
place of pilgrimage for the many admirers of one of the 
most notable figures in American military history. This 
circumstance, and the fact that he dwelt in his later years 
in New York City, amply justify his admission to this 
work. The life of General Grant, however, was so active 
and eventful that we can gi\e it but in epitome here. 

Born at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, April 
27, 1822, his boyhood days were spent in assisting his 
father in farm work in summer and attending the village 
school in winter, till i83(j, when he entered the West 
Point Military Academy as a cadet. He graduated in 
1S43, and, after performing some military duties, joined 
General Taylor's army in September, 1845, ^^'^'^ the com- 
mission of second lieutenant in the Fourth Infiintry. 
After taking part in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca 
de la Palma, anil the capture of Monterey, the Fourth 
was sent to Vera Cruz to join the army of General Scott, 
and Grant took part in all the battles of .Scott's successful 
campaign. On his return to the United States, in 1848, 
he married Julia T. Dent, of .St. Louis, and continued to 
.serve in the army till 1854, when he resigned and settled 
f>n a farm near .St. Louis. 

lie continued in |)rivate life till the outbreak of the 
civil war in 1861, when he innnediately offered his .ser- 
vices to the government, and in June was ap|)ointed 
colonel of the Twenty-fir.st Illinois Infantry. In August 
he was made brigadier-general of volunteers and given 
the command of a district, and in No\ember fought the 
battle of Ik-lmont, Mis.souri. His remarkable ability was 
soon to display itself in the .signal capture of Forts 
Henry and Donelson (February, 1862) with more than 



fourteen thousand prisoners, for which exploit he was 
made major-general of \olunteers. In April he fought 
the memorable two-days' battle at Shiloh, one of the 
severest of the war, and in November began his cele- 
brated series of operations against Vicksburg, which 
resulted in the surrender of that stronghold on July 4, 
1863, with thirty-one thousand six hundred prisoners and 
one hundred and seventy-two cannon. By this exploit 
the Mississippi was opened from its source to its mouth. 

I'or this service he was made major-general in the 
regular arm\-. His next field of duty was at Chatta- 
nooga, where he defeated the enemy and drove him out 
of Tennessee. In March, 1864, he was promoted to the 
high grade of lieutenant-general, and made commaniier- 
in-chief of all the armies of the United States, with his 
head-quarters with the Army of the Potomac. 1 le at 
once organized a plan of campaign under which all the 
armies of the United States were to operate simulta- 
neously against the enemy, General Sherman heading 
the important aiKance against Atlanta, and Grant him- 
self that against Richmond. The details of the re- 
markable series of engagements between him and (len- 
eral Lee, the persistent siege of Petersburg, antl the final 
surrender of Lee on April 9, 1S65, need not here be 
repeated. They are well-known matters of histor)\ 

In July, 1866, Grant was raised to the grade of general, 
the highest in the United States arni\-, and in 1868 re- 
ceived the Republican nomination for the Presidencj'. 
He was electetl in Nmember, receiving two huiulred and 
fourteen electoral votes out of two hundred and ninet\'- 
four. He was again elected in November, 1872, thus 
ser\ing eight \'ears. Of the events of his administration 
perhaps the most inipoi tant was the settlement, h)- peaceful 
arbitration, of the perilous " Alabama Claims." 

After retiring from the Presidency General Grant niaile 
a tour of the world, which occupied two years, and in 
which he received the most flattering attentions from 
' foreign rulers and dignitaries. His name was again 
offered for nomination in 1880, but was opposed from 
the traditional sentinmil against a third-term President. 
In 1881 he purchased a house in New York, where he 
afterwards spent his winters, his summers being s|)ent in 
his sea-side cottage at Long Br.uicli. l'"inding his income 
insufficient for his expenses, he became a partner in a 
banking house in which one of his sons was interested, 
investing all his available capital. In May, 1884, the 
house sutldenly suspendetl, and it was then discovered 
that two of the partners had robbed (leneral Grant of all 
he ]5ossessed. To provide for his family he now yielded 
to solicitations to write his personal memoirs. About the 
same time cancer developeil at the root of his tongue, and 
he lived barely long enough to com|)lete his work, dying 
July 23, 1883. He was buried on August 8. with great 
pomp, .It Riverside Park, overlooking the Huilson. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



27 



HOWARD CROSBY, D.D. 

The subject of our present sketch is of distinguished 
ancestry, his great-grandfather, William Floyd, having 
been one of the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, while Ebenezer Crosby, his grandfather, was a sur- 
geon in Washington's life-guards, and afterwards became 
a professor in Cohunbia College. His father, William 
R. Crosby, was among the richest men of his time in 
New York, ha\ing inherited from Colonel Henry Rut- 
gers nearly the whole of what is now the Seventh Ward 
of the city. Until the great accumulations of John Jacob 
Astor, he was one of the largest holders of real estate 
in tills countr\-. He was a gentleman of quiet habits 
and benevolent instincts, his time being devoted to the 
care of his property and deeds of unostentatious charity. 

Howard Crosby was born in New York City on Feb- 
ruary 27, 1826. Though born to w'ealth, he did not 
pursue the course of many rich men's sons, but devoted 
his youth to earnest study and his manhood to works of 
value to mankind, developing into one of the most public 
spirited of the modern reform element of the metropolis. 
He received his education at the Uni\'ersity of New 
York, from which he gratluatetl at the age of eighteen. 
His subsequent life was spent in educational and minis- 
terial duties. At the age of twent}'-five he was appointed 
Professor of Greek in the University of New York, and 
in the next year became president of the Young Men's 
Christian Association of that city. In 1859 he accepted 
the position of Professor of Greek in Rutgers College, 
, New Brunswick, New Jersey. While there he entered 
upon the study of theology, to which he had long mani- 
fested an inclination, and in 1861, having completed his 
studies, was ordained in the ministr}', and became pastor 
of the I*"irst Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick. 

While thus engaged in ministerial duties, Mr. Crosby 
retained his professorship, but in I S63 he resigned both 
positions, having accepted a call to the pastorage of the 
Fourth Presbyterian Church of New York. His remain- 
ing years of life were spent in that city, in which his 
activity in the field of public progress and educational 
interests soon brought him into prominence. In 1864 
he was elected a member of the council of the University 
of New York, which position he occupied till his death. 
In 1870 he was chosen as the chancellor of the Univer- 
sity, and continued to perform the duties of this office 
until 1881, though retaining his pastorship meanwhile. 

During the period in question Mr. Crosby served on 
the American commission of revisers of the Bible, and 
at a later period was one of the learned commissioners 
appointed to revise the New Testament, a work for 




which his thorough acquaintance with Greek especially 
fitted him. In 1.873 he was chosen Moderator of the 
General Assembl\- of the Presb\^terian Church, and in 
1877 served as a delegate to the Pan-Presbyterian council 
at P^dinburgh. In addition to these literary and theo- 
logical labors he became also active in the work of 
benevolence and reform, and in 1 877 founded and became 
president of the Society for the Prevention of Crime. 
The purpose of this society was principallj' to restrict 
the use of spirituous liquors by repressive legislation, 
and Mr. Crosby exerted himself efficiently for a re\ision 
of the license laws of the State. His advocac)' of license 
instead of prohibition gained him the ill will of ardent 
prohibitionists, but there is no question but that his stand 
was taken from his firm belief that prohibition was im- 
practicable in a city like New York, and that effective 
reform could only be attained through strict license laws. 
His work in this direction brought him in 1888 an 
appointment as a member of the State commission to 
revise the excise laws. 

These active public labors of Mr. Crosby were sup- 
plemented by no less active literary labors, his works 
including Commentaries on the books of Joshua and 
Nehemiah and on the New Testament, a \olume of 
Yale Lectures, and various others, together with a 
large number of review articles, pamphlets, etc. He 
also acted as editor of the last two volumes of the 
" American Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica." 
In 1859 Harvard conferred on him the degree of D.D., 
and in 187 1 Columbia that of LL.D. He died in New 
York, March 29, 1891. 



MAKERS OF NFJV YORK. 




REV. MORGAN DIX. D.D. 

The Rev. Morgan Dix, rector of Trinit\' I'arisli, was 
born in New York, November i, 1827, the son of 
General John A. Dix, e.x-governor of New York, a 
sketcli of whose hfe we have elsewhere given. From 
1830 to 1842 the family resided at Albaii)', after which 
they traveled abroad, and it was not until young Di.\ 
was seventeen years of age that he was able to begin 
active preparations for a university education. In 1845 
he entered Columbia College, from which he graduated 
three years afterwards. lie then began the study of the 
law, but not in response to his own inclinations, which 
turned towards the ministry. He soon, in consetjueiice 
of this jiredilection, gave up his legal studies and entered 
the General Theological Seminary of New York, in 
whicii he took the regular course, graduating in 1852. 

Me was ordained during the same year in St. John's 
Chapel, New York, by Hishop Chase, of New Hampshire, 
anil in 1854 was admitted to the priesthood by Hishop 
Alon/.o Potter, in St. Mark's Church, Philadelphia. 
Here he remained for some time, as an assistant to the 
rector, Rev. Joseph Wilnier, who was afterwards liishop 
of Louisiana. Fie then went to Iuiro]je, where he spent 
a year and a half in travel and study. On his return to 
New York lie was elected assistant rector of Trinity 
Parish. Dr. Herrian, the rector, died November 7, 1862, 
and on November 10, Dr. Di.\ was elected his successor, 
and was installed on the following day, in accordance 
with a pre-revolutionary form of induction which is only 
observed in Trinitv Parish. He was instituted on the 



29th of the same month in the presence of a large con- 
gregation. 

During his incumbcnc\- as rector Dr. Di.K has done 
much for the ad\ancemcnt of the parish, which in the 
inter\'al has grown by the addition of five chapels, with 
many other buildings needed in the parish work. The 
old rectory has been converted into a j^arish hospital, anil 
greatly enlarged for that purpose ; and a complete .system 
of parochial schools has been established, including day 
and night schools, kindergartens, manual training, cook- 
ing, and house schools. l-"or these a number of school- 
houses have been erected, and in addition there ha\e 
been built se\eral parish and other buildings for the 
extended needs of the parish work. 

Dr. Dix has been active in promoting the growth of 
sisterhoods, and was pastor of the Order of St. Mary at 
its origin. He has taken great interest in church music, 
and has been very successful in its improvement. He 
was a member of the choral society under Dr. Hodges, 
and took jiart in the first choral service ever held in New 
^'ork. ;\s rector he has had under his immediate direc- 
tion se\'cn churches and eighteen clerg)-men, and yet 
has found time to fill many other important positions. 
Among these he acted as delegate to six general conven- 
tions, in the last three of which he was president of the 
House of Deputies. Since 1S69 he has been president of 
the .standing committee of the diocese of New York, 
and is al.so a trustee of Columbia College, of Sailors' 
Snug Harbor, Watt's Orphan Asylum, etc. He is vice- 
presiiient of the Protestant Episcopal Public School of 
\ew "\'ork and of the .Society for the Pre\ention of 
Cruelty to Animals. 

In the midst of these multifarious ilnties Dr. Dix has 
been able to do no small amount of literar\- labor. His 
productions include " Commentary on -St. Paul's Papistic 
to the Romans," " Commentary on the ICpistle to the 
Galatians and Colossians," " Lecture on Pantheism," 
" Lecture on the Two Estates : the Wedded in the Lord 
and the Single for the Lord's Sake," " Sermons, Doctrinal 
and Practical," " Memoirs of John A. Dix," etc. 

As a preacher Dr. Dix is forcible, earnest, and coura- 
geous. He does not confine himself to general issues, 
and does not hesitate to denounce any social e\il in the 
plainest and most vigoious language. I'ew ministers or 
men are more respected. It may be said in conclusion 
that he has been an ardent collector of rare books, manu- 
scripts, etc., and that his library contains many highly 
valuable examples of medi;eval literary treasures, together 
with an extensive collection of Americana. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



29 



ROSCOE CONKLING. 

ROSCOE CoNKLiNG was born at Albany, October 30, 
1829. His father, Albert Conkling, had been a member 
of Congress and afterwards United States district judge 
for Northern New York, and received in 1852 the diplo- 
matic appointment of minister to Mexico. The son was 
given an academic education, and in 1846 removed to 
Utica, where he studied law, and obtained admission to the 
bar in 1849. As a lawyer his progress was rapid, and in 
1850, one year after his admission to practice, he was 
made district attorne)' for Oneida County. 

Politically he began life as an ardent Whig, in which 
party he continued until its decadence and disappearance, 
when he entered its successor, the Republican party, of 
whose principles he became an earnest advocate. His 
first political position was as mayor of Utica, to which 
office he was elected in 1858. In the same year he 
secured the Republican nomination to Congress, and was 
elected to that bod\', being at that time the youngest 
member of the House of Representatives. On the floor 
of Congress the young member soon acquired a reputa- 
tion for eloquence in debate and courage in the ex- 
pression of his opinions, and in 1 860 he was again elected. 
He was defeated, how-ever, in 1862, and returning again 
to legal practice, was employed by the attorney-general 
of the State in exposing the frauds which had been 
practiced in New York in regard to the enlistments and 
bounties of soldiers. In this field of duty his services 
were valuable, and much of the secret peculation and 
fraudulent devices of the law-breakers was laid bare 
through his agency. In 1864 he was again elected to 
Congress, and resumed his seat on the floor of the House, 
in which he served as chairman of the Committee on the 
District of Columbia and as member of a committee 
appointed to consider a bankrupt law. He was also 
appointed on the Committee of Ways and Means, 
and on the special Reconstruction Committee of the 
House. 

In these fields of duty Mr. Conkling vigorously 
opposed all measures whose operation would have given 
the late secessionists a voice in national affairs. In 1866 
his constituents returned him to Congress for another 
term, but his period of duty as a member of the House 
came to an end in the succeeding session, the New York 
Legislature electing him to the Senate in January, 1867. 
He took his seat in that august body in March of that 
year. On the formation of the senatorial committees, 
Mr. Conkling was placed on that on the Judiciarj', and 
during the remainder of his senatorial career, from 1867 
to 1 88 1, served on most of the leading committees of the 
Senate. 

In 1876 his name was prominently presented before 
the Republican national convention as a candidate for 




the Presidency, but it shared the fate of several other 
prominent names, in the nomination of General Hayes. 
The new President showed a disposition to adopt concili- 
atory measures towards the South, in which he was 
opposed by many members of his party, and strenuously 
by Senator Conkling, who was one of the leaders in 
opposition to such measures, and organized the" Stalwart" 
faction of the Republican party from the sympathizers 
with his views. As a political manager, both in New 
York and in the Senate, he manifested unusual skill, not 
only ruling the party in the State, but controlling in the 
Senate, in a measure, the nominations to office by the 
executive head of the government, and opposing the new 
doctrines regarding the civil service. 

In the Chicago national con\ention of 1880, Mr. Conk- 
ling strongly advocated the nomination of General Grant 
for a third term to the Presidency. In this effort he was 
unsuccessful. At the opening of President Garfield's 
administration he endeavored to retain the power he had 
previously held, of controlling the nominations to office, 
and particularly insisted on the withdrawal of the name 
of W. H. Robertson as collector of the port of New 
York. He met in Garfield, however, a man of vigor- 
ous determination, and, finding his power of appoint- 
ment gone, he and his colleague, Thomas C. Piatt, re- 
signed their seats in the Senate and appealed to the New 
York Legislature for re-election, as a \'indication of the 
justice of their cause. In this they signally failed, the 
Legislature, after a struggle that lasted for months, 
appointing two successors in their places. Declining a 
nomination as justice of the United States Supreme 
Court, offered him by President Arthur, Mr. Conkling 
entered upon the practice of law* in New York City, 
where he died April 18, 1888. 



30 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR. 

Chester Alan Aktiiuk, twenty-first President of the 
United States, was born at Fairfield, Vermont, October 
5, 1830. His father. Rev. William Arthur, was a Baptist 
minister who came to this country from Belfast, Ireland, 
and preached at several localities in New York and Ver- 
mont. The future President was born in a log cabin 
which his father occupied while waiting for the erec- 
tion of a parsonage. He was educated at Schenectady, 
New York, at first in an academy there, and afterwards 
in Union College, from whicli he graduated in 1848. 
During part of his college career he supported himself 
by teaching, and after graduation he continued to teach 
while studj'ing law at Lansingburg, New York. Thence 
he went to New York City, where he entered the law- 
office of v.. D. Culver. He was admitted to the bar in 
1853, and became junior member of the firm of Culver, 
Parker & Arthur. 

Early in the young barrister's career liis firm was con- 
cerned in the celebrated Lemmon slave case, of which 
wc have spoken in our sketch of William M. I'^varts, who 
was selected by young Arthur as consulting counsel. 
It ended in the freeing of the slaves, in which result the 
young advocate took an active part, though all the honor 
is usually given to Mr. Evarts. Mr. Arthur's firm after- 
wards became the legal champions of the colored people, 
and in 1856, by their successful handling of the Jennings 
case, established the right of the African race to ride in 
the street cars. 

Politically, Mr. Arthur was in his earlier days a Whig, 
but on the absorption of his party by the new Republican 
party, he became one of its ardent members, and was 
active in its local organization. In i860, Governor Mor- 
gan appointed him engineer in-chief on his staff This 



had previously been an office with nominal duties, but 
the outbreak of the war made it important, and Mr. 
Arthur's previous connection with the militia made his 
services valuable. In April, 1861, he opened a branch 
quartermaster's department in New York, at Governor 
Morgan's request, and was soon after given the entire 
task of preparing and equipping the regiments raised in 
the State. This dut\- he continued to perform until the 
end of the war, being appointed quartermaster-general 
in 1862. 

In January, 1862, he made an elaborate report of the 
defences of New York harbor, and in February, being 
appointed inspector-general, he visited the New York 
regiments in the Army of the Potomac and saw that 
their wants were supplied. On the election of Go\ernor 
Sc}-mour in December, 1863, Mr. Arthur returned to 
the practice of the law. But he continued active in 
military and political affairs, was chairman of the Re- 
publican executive committee of the State, and worked 
actively for the nomination and election of President 
Grant in 1868. On November 20, 1871, he was ap- 
pointed by the President collector of the port of New 
York, and at the expiration of his term, in 1875, was 
renominated and unanimously confirmctl by the Senate. 
He held this position until July 12, 1878, when he 
was removed at the instance of Senator Sherman, who 
brought against him charges of political mismanagement 
of the office, which were indignantly and successfully 
repelled. Collector Arthur proved that the removals 
from office of his subordinates was in an unusually small 
percentage, ami that many inipro\emcnts IkuI been intro- 
duced. 

In 1879 he was elected chairman of the Rc])ublican 
State committee, and when, in Jul\-, 1880, General Gar- 
field was nominated by the Republican convention at 
Chicago for President, it was decided that the second 
nominee should be taken from New York," and General 
Arthur's name was offered and accepted. In November 
he was elected Vice-President of the United States, and 
in March, 1881, took his seat as President of the Senate. 
On the retirement of Senator Conkling, Mr. Arthur 
sought to procure his re-election by the .State Legislature, 
but failed in this purpose. 

The assassination of President Garfield raised the Vice- 
President to the Presidential chair. President Arthur 
took the oath of office privately in New York, Sei)temlxr 
20, 1 88 1, and was publicly inaugurateil in Washington 
on September 22. Of his acts in office we have no space 
here to sjjeak. It will suffice to say that his administra- 
tion won wide-spread commendation, even from those 
who had at first predicted for him a weak or corrupt ex- 
ecutive career. He did not long survive the conclusion 
of his term of office, dying November 1 1, 18S6. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



31 



BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL DANIEL BUTTERFIELD. 

Brevet Major-General Daniel. Butterfield was 
born in Utica, New York, October 31, 1S31 ; was grad- 
uated at Union in 1849, and became a merchant in New 
York City. He was colonel of the Twelfth New York 
Militia when the civil war began. Accompanying his 
regiment to Washington in July, 1861, he led the advance 
into Virginia over the Long Bridge, joined General 
Patterson on the Upper Potomac, and commanded a 
brigade. 

On the enlargement of the regular arnn- he was com- 
missioned a lieutenant-colonel, and assigned to the 
Twelfth Infantry May 14, 1861 ; appointed brigadier- 
general of volunteers September 7, 1861, and ordered to 
the corps of Fitz-John Porter, in which he made the 
campaign of the Peninsula, taking a conspicuous part in 
the actions at Hanover Court-House, Mechanicsville, 
and Gaines's Mill, where he was wounded, and in the 
battles fought during the retreat of McClellan's army to 
Harrison's Landing, where he commanded a detachment 
on the south side of the James River to cover the retreat. 
He took part in the great battles under Pope and Mc- 
Clellan in August and September, 1862, and near the 
close of October took command of Morrell's division. 
He became major-general of volunteers on November 29, 
1862; was made colonel of the Fifth Infantry in the 
regular army on July i, 1863, and commanded the Fifth 
Corps at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia; was 
chief of staff, Army of the Potomac, at Chancellorsville 
and at Gettysburg, where he was wounded ; was ordered 
to re-enforce Rosecrans's Arm\- of the Cumberland in 
October, 1863 ; acting chief of staff to Hooker at Look- 
out Mountain, Alission Ridge, Ringgold, and Pea- Vine 
Creek, Georgia. He commanded a division of the 
Twentieth Corps at the battles of Buzzards' Roost, 




Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Kenesavv, and Lost 
Mountain, Georgia, and was brevetted brigadier-general 
and major-general United States army " for gallant and 
meritorious conduct." He is the author of " Camp and 
Outpost Duty" (New York, 1862). He served after the 
war as superintendent of the general recruiting service 
of the United States army, with head-quarters in New 
York, and in command of forces in New York harbor 
from 1865 till 1869, when he resigned from the army, 
and was appointed head of the Sub-Treasury of the 
United States in New York. He filled this position 
most creditably. 

Few officers have a better military record than General 
Butterfield. A man of fine, commanding presence, he 
always inspired confidence to his men when leading them 
to battle. His father was John Butterfield. 



32 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




EDWIN BOOTH. 

Edwin Booth, America's most famous actor, was born 
at Bel Air, near Baltimore, Marylaml, November 13, 
1833, the son of the celebrated actor Junius Brutus 
Booth. The boj' had few opportunities for education in 
the life of active movement to which his father's profes- 
sion subjected him, but his naturally studious disposition 
caused him to make use of every ojiportunity in this 
direction, and he grew up very well informed. A strong 
.sympathy always existed between him and his father, 
who took him with him on his profe-ssional tours while 
he was still young, and whose occasional wayward and 
passionate moods could only be controlled by the quiet- 
ing influence possessed over him b)- his son. Young 
Booth's first appearance was at the Boston Museum in 
1849, in the minor part of Tressel, in " Richard III." It 
is .said that his father objected to his going on liie stage. 
However that was, no such objection was afterwards 
indicated. The )-oung actor worked hard for professional 
improvement, and a[)pcnred at Philadelphia, Providence, 
and other cities, as Cassio in "Othello" and Wilford in 
" The Iron Chest," being highly commended in the latter 
character. He traveled for two years with his father, 
and made his first appearance in New York, September 
27, 1850, at the National Theatre, Chatham .Street, in 
the character of Wilford. In 185 I, during a temporary 
illness of his father, the son rcplaceil liiin in tlic char- 
acter of Richard III., a performance tliat was criticised 
as very creditable. In the same year the father and 
son played together in San Francisco, in a theatre under 
the management of Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. They 
subsequently traveled through California until 1852, 
when, during their return to the East, the elder Booth 
died. 



In his subsequent career Edwin Booth became famous 
in the characters which had been played so successfully 
by his father and in various others chosen by himself, 
his early role including Shylock, Hamlet, Macbeth, and 
Sir Edward Mortimer in the " Iron Chest." In 1854 he 
was in Australia, plaj-ing with Laura Keene. On his 
return to California he first pla\cd the character of Rich- 
elieu, one of his greatest parts in later years. His subse- 
quent return to the East was heralded by the fame he 
had gained in the West, and his tour through the 
Eastern cities met with the greatest success. In 1857 he 
appeared again in New York, at the Metropolitan Theatre, 
where he roused the utmost enthusiasm by his masterly 
impersonations. In the spring of 1858 he played lago, 
in a benefit at Wallack's Theatre, to E. L. Davenport's 
Othello and Mrs. Hoey's Desdemona. 

In i860, Mr. Booth married Mary Devlin, an actress, 
with whom he took a trip to Europe, pla>-ing at the Hay- 
market in London with poor support and slight success ; 
but more successfully at Liverpool and Manchester. 
His wife died in 1863. He now began his career as a 
manager, assuming control of the Winter Garden Theatre, 
New York. Here, in November, 1864, the three brothers 
appeared together in "Julius C;esar," Edwin as Brutus, 
Junius Brutus as Cassius, and John Wilkes as Antony. 
He brought out plays here with unusual magnificence 
and completeness, and gave to " Hamlet" the unprece- 
dented run of one hundreil consecutive nights. He 
afterwards became associated with John S. Clarke in the 
management of the Winter Garden and the Walnut Street 
Theatre, Philadelphia. 

After the murder of President Lincoln by his brother 
John Wilkes, lulwin retired from the stage for a year, 
but subscqucntK' was iiuhuxtl to return, and was greeted 
with all the old enthusiasm by his audiences. He now 
determined to enter u[)on the production of plaj's on a 
tiuly magnificent scale, and built the splendid structure 
known as Booth's Theatre, at Si.xth A\'enue and Twent)-- 
third Street, New Y<irk, which was opened P'ebruary 3, 
1869, with " Romeo aiul Juliet." In the same year he 
married Mary McVickar, a step-daughter of the manager, 
J. H. McVickar. She died in 1S81. 

In his new theatre Booth brought out all his old series 
of plays in the mcst superb style, and with the greatest 
success, until 1873, when the financial i^anic forced him 
into bankruj)tc)'. He subsequently restored his fortunes 
by a professional tour. In 1880 and 1S82 he acted in 
Europe with the most distinguished success. He after- 
wards associated himself with Lawrence Barrett, and 
they starred together till the death of Barrett in 1891. 
Booth did not long survive him, dying in New York, 
June 7, 1893. Among his many acts of generosity is 
the fine club-house built by him for actors, in Graniercy 
Park, New York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



33 



BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL JOHN T. LOCKMAN. 

Brevet Brigadier-General John T. Locrman was 
born in the city of New York on the 26th day of Sep- 
tember, 1834. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he was 
a student-at-law in the cit}- of his birth. On the 19th day 
of April, 1 861, he enlisted as a private in Company C, 
Ninth Rei^iment of New York State Militia. Having 
recruited Company H for the Ninth Regiment, he was 
elected its first lieutenant on ]\Ia\- 24, 1861. The regi- 
ment left New York on the 27th day of May for Wash- 
ington, arriving there on the e\ening of the 28th, relieving 
the Seventh New York State Militia. Participated in the 
Martinsburg campaign under General Robert Patterson, 
and Ball's Bluff under General Charles P. Stone ; was 
commissioned captain November 25, 1861, and partici- 
pated in the movements terminating in the occupation of 
Winchester, Virginia, in March, 1862; the campaign in 
Virginia, July and August, 1862, under General Pope. 

General Lockman was commissioned lieutenant-colonel 
of the One Hundred and Nineteenth New York Volun- 
teers August 13, 1862, and participated in the battle of 
Chancellorsville, May 2, 1863, and on the death of Colonel 
Peisner in that battle succeeded to the command of the 
regiment, and on the 3d of May was commissioned its 
colonel. At the battle of Gettysburg he was severely 
wounded during the first day's fight, July i, 1863. 

On rejoining his regiment in September, 1863, the 
Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were ordered to the South- 
west to re-enforce General Thomas, and he there took part 
in establishing communication with General Thomas ; or, 
as it was usually stj'led, opening the "Cracker Line;" 
participating in the battles of Wauhatchie and Missionary 
Ridge, pursuit of General Bragg, and relief of Knoxville. 

On April 27, 1864, the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps 
were consolidated and formed into the Twentieth Corps. 
The One Hundred and Nineteenth Regiment was assigned 
to the Second Brigade, Second Division of that corps, and 
participated in the battles of Rocky-Faced Ridge and 
Resaca, at which battle, by order of General Hooker, he 
led three regiments to an assault on a rebel battery. He 
participated in the battles of Cass\ille, Pine Hill, Kolb's 
Farm, Dallas (where he commanded the Second Brigade), 
Kenesaw Mountain, Peach-Trec Creek, and the siege of 




Atlanta, entering that cit}- on September 2, 1 864. He also 
participated in the March to the Sea, siege and occupation 
of Saxannah, Georgia, where he was placed in command 
of a provisional division to guard the captured cotton and 
stores. He also participated in the march through the 
Carolinas and movements resulting in tlie occupation of 
Charleston, Columbia, Winsborough, and Cheraw, South 
Carolina ; and Fayetteville, battle of Bentonville, occu- 
pation of Raleigh, North Carolina, and surrender of Gen- 
eral Joseph E. Johnston's army at Durham Station. 

General Lockman was brevetted brigadier-general of 
\-oluntcers "for meritorious services in the capture of 
Atlanta." 

At the close of the war he resumed the study of law, 
graduating from the Columbia College Law-School with 
the degree of B.L. in April, 1867, and was admitted to 
the bar of the State of New York in the same month. 

General Lockman served under the following, who were 
commanders of armies : Generals Scott, McDowell, Pat- 
terson, McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, and Meade in the 
Army of the Potomac ; Grant, Rosecrans, Thomas, and 
Sherman in the Army of the Cumberland ; and Slocum, 
Army of Georgia. Under corps commanders. Generals 
Stone, Banks, Howard, Hooker, Slocum, Williams, and 
Mower. 



34 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLES W. BROOKE. 

The ancestors of Charles Wallace Brooke, the emi- 
nent lawyer and orator, emigrated from Ireland to this 
country at an early date, though the notable Irish quali- 
ties of geniality, wit, and eloquence are still retained by 
the descendant of the family with whom we are at present 
concerned. His grandfather, Charles J. Brooke, was an 
intimate friend of Alexander Hamilton, whose name he 
gave to his most promising son. This son, Alexander 
Hamilton Brooke, was born in Virginia, in which State 
the Brooke family is still one of note. He entered the 
navy, but after a lime left it, moved to Philadelphia, 
and became a sea-captain of that ])ort, commanding the 
largest ship in the China trade. He married the ilaugli- 
ter of Captain Jo.scph Berry, another famous Philadelphia 
seaman, his son Charles being born A])ril lo, 1836, in 
the then district of Sonthwark, near the Old Swedes' 
Church. 

Captain Brooke died when his son was but four years 
of age, leaving his wife a small competency. Mrs. Brooke 
took care that her children should receive a good educa- 
tion, Charles being educated at the Protestant Episcopal 
Acadenn- of Philadelphia, and afterwards at the Univer- 
sity of Penn.sylvania. At the age of seventeen he left 
the University to accept a clcrkshi|) in the Western Bank. 
In this establishment he is credited with starting tlie 
.system of striking ledger balance sheets for each day's 
business, and also of inaugurating the clearing-house 
system in Philadelphia. 

Banking business, however, was not to his taste, and 



he studied law in his leisure moments, Charles E. Lex 
acting as his preceptor. He was adn^itted to the bar in 
October, 1858, when twenty-two years '_ of age. The 
office taken by him was near that of T^enjamin Harris 
Brewster, who took a strong interest in him, and remained 
during life his warm friend. The young lawyer quickly 
made friends and gained clients through his winning 
manners ami that gift of eloquence which had carl_\- dis- 
played itself He had chosen the specialt\- of criminal 
practice, and b\- the time he had been two years before 
the bar he had gained a leading position in the Philadel- 
phia criminal courts, many important cases coming into 
his hands. In addition to his legal reputation, he quickly 
became prominent in the social life of Philadelphia. He 
was one of the originators of the Penn Club, one of the 
prominent social institutions of the Quaker City. He 
was fond of theatricals, and became an active member 
of the Amateur Dramatic Society. He was president of 
the Board of .School Directors, and during the war was a 
[)rominent sustaincr of the Union cause as a member of 
the P'irst City Troop, with which he marched, under the 
leadership of Won. Samuel J. Randall, to the defence of 
Gettysburg. At successive dates he was Democratic 
candidate for district attorney and for Congress, but 
was not elected, the Re[^ublican part\- being in a strong 
majority. 

Mr. Brooke's fine [)owers of orator}' and high sense of 
humor were soon displayed in the lecture field, in which 
the announcement of his name was sure to draw a 
large audience. His lectures on " Irish Bards and Bal- 
lads" and " Raie Okl Players" were highl)' populai', and 
were delivered not onl)' in Philadelphia, but in \-arious 
other cities. His sense of humor, in fact, won for him 
the title of "The Wit of the Philadelphia Bar," and 
couUl all the bright saj-ings that have fillen fiom his 
tongue be gathered, they would make a \dlume of good 
things. 

In 187 1, Mr. Brooke removed from Philadelphia to 
New York, in which wider field of practice he has since 
been engaged. Among his manj- famous cases may be 
named the Woodhull and Claflin libel suit in connection 
with the Beecher and Tilton scandal, and his defence of 
Henry S. Ives, "The Young Napoleon of iMnance." In 
oratory, he has made his mark in New York by his 
famous orations on Robert pjiimet and at the unveiling 
of the statue of Tom Moore, in Prospect Park, Brooklj-n, 
wliere twenty thousand [people listened to his eloquent 
words. Another notable event was his memorial oration 
on the " Manchester Martyrs," in the Cooper Institute. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



35 



PAYMASTER-GENERAL EDWIN STEWART. 

Paymaster-General Edwin Stewart was born in 
New York City, May 5, 1837. He is a graduate of 
Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, and of Wil- 
liams College, from which institution he has received the 
degrees of B.A. and M.A. Had it not been for the war 
he would have followed a profession ; in fact, had already 
commenced the study of law, when, in September, 1861, 
he was appointed an assistant paymaster in the navy. 
His first duty was on board the gun-boat " Pembina," 
then fitting out at New York. The " Pembina" joined 
the expedition against Port Ro\al, and on November 7, 
1 861, took part in the bombaidmcnt and capture of the 
forts of that place. 

In April, 1862, Assistant Paj-master Stewart was pro- 
moted to the grade of paymaster, and ordered to the 
" Richmond," in the South Atlantic Squadron. The 
" Richmond," in company with the " Hartford," partici- 
pated in that series of brilliant naval engagements which 
made the name of Farragut famous. 

Paymaster Stewart was attached to the " Richmond" 
during the three most eventful years of her career, and 
saw memorable service, both on the blockade and in the 
battles in which she was engaged, notably at Port Hud- 
son and at the passage and capture of the forts in Mobile 
Bay. 

At the close of the war lie was assigned to duty on the 
Lakes, being attached to the steamer " Michigan" from 
1865 to 1868. Much of the duty of the "Michigan" 
during those years consisted in watching and endeavor- 
ing to frustrate the persistent and repeated efforts of the 
Fenians to effect a landing in Canada. 

The " Michigan" finally succeeded in capturing the 
whole party as they were making their way across the 
Niagara River. 

In i86g, Paymaster Stewart was ordered to Washing- 
ton, where for three )-ears he was in charge of the Pur- 
chasing Pay- Office. 

In the spring of 1872 he was appointed a member of 
the Board of \'isitors to the Naval Academy. 

In the fall of 1872 he was ordered to the " Hartford" 
as fleet-paymaster on the Asiatic Station. The " Hart- 
ford" went to China by way of the Mediterranean and 
the Suez Canal, stopping at various places of interest en 
route. Tile cruise lasted three years, a large portion of 
the time being spent in the seaport cities of China and 
Japan. 

When homeward bound in 1875 the "Hartford" re- 
ceived at Messina telegraphic orders to go to Tripoli and 
settle a difficulty growing out of an alleged indignity 
offered to the United States consul. On her arrival at 
Tripoli she found the " Congress" already there under 
similar orders. An apology for the indignity was de- 




manded from the Pasha, and forty-eight hours named as 
the time within which it must be made. 

The two ships steamed into position before the city, 
and in this menacing attitude awaited the Pasha's reply. 
It came within the time specified. A full and satisfactory 
apology was made, and the " Hartford" steamed away 
on her homeward voyage. 

Paymaster Stewart was commissioned " pay-inspector" 
March 8, 1880, and for three years was on duty as in- 
spector at the nav\--\-ard. New York. In 1882 lie was 
ordered to the " Lancaster," and for nearly three years 
was fleet-paymaster on the European Station, visiting 
during the cruise most of the seaport cities of Europe 
from St. Petersburg to Alexandria and Palestine. An 
interesting feature of this cruise was the visit to Russia, 
the " Lancaster" having been ordered to Cronstadt to 
represent the United States on the occasion of the coro- 
nation of the Czar. 

In 1886, Pay-Inspector Stewart was assigned to the 
important position of purchasing pa}'-officer in New York 
City, on which duty he was continued until May 16, 
1 890, when he was made paymaster-general of the navy. 
He was selected for this position while he was still a pay- 
inspector, with thirteen pay-directors senior to him on 
the list. 

The bureau of which he is chief directs all purchases 
for the nav}-, has custody of all supplies, keeps account 
of all appropriations for the navy, and is the financial 
and business bureau of the department. 

General Stewart is a member of the Loyal Legion, of 
the University Club in New York, and of the Metropol- 
itan and Army and Navy Clubs in Washington. 

He has for many years been a ^unday-school super- 
intendent, and is a ruling elder in the Presbyterian 
1 Church. 



36 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




THOMAS EWING. 

BRiGAniKK- AND Bkkvkt Majok-Gknekai. Tiiomas 
EwiNc. was born at Lancaster, Ohio, August 7, 1839. 
He is tlic tliird son of the distinguished statesman and 
lawyer of that name. He graduated at Brown Univer- 
sity and at the Cincinnati Law School. In 1856 he 
married Miss Ellen Cox, a daughter of the Rev. William 
Cox, a graduate of Princeton Seminary, distinguished for 
his zeal and eloquence. In 1856 he settled in Kansas 
and took a strong hand in defeating the conspiracy to 
force the pro-slavery constitution on Kansas. In 1858- 
1S59 he jjracticed law at Leavenworth in partncrshi]) with 
Captain (afterwards General) William T. Sherman and 
his brother, Hugh Ewing. In i860 he was elected chief- 
justice of the Supreme Court of the new State for six 
years, and filled the office with marked ability until 1862, 
when he recruited and was a]5pointed colonel of the 
Eleventh Kansas Infantry. That fall he commanded his 
regiment in the engagements fought by the Army of the 
Frontier in Arkansas, and for conspicuous gallantry in 
the desperate battle of Prairie Grove was commissioned 
a brigadier-general by .special order of President Lin- 
coln. 

In June, 1863, he took command of the District of the 
Border, comprising Western Missouri anil Kansas, where 
the smouldering fires of the old free-state struggle had 
burst into furious and insupprcssible flames when the great 
war broke out. Outlaws on botli sides ravaged the border 
until the Missouri side had been depopulated, wasted, and 
burned to the subsoil. The \endetta reached its clima.x 
in the horrible massacre at Lawrence, in Jui\-, 1 863, which 
was followed by Ewing's Order No. 1 1, compelling the 
few scattered inhabitants of parts of three bonier counties 
of Missouri, who were serving as spies and purveyors for 
the guerillas, to move to the nearest military posts or 



eastward from the troubled border. This order was ap- 
proved by General Schofield and President Lincoln. 
Its results were most beneficent. It caused little hard- 
ship to non-combatants, and the support of the guerillas 
being withdrawn, the ferocious vendetta ended at once 
and forever. 

Early in 1864, General Ewing took command of the 
District of St. Louis, comprising all of Southeast Mis- 
souri. Soon after. General Sterling Price suddenly crossed 
the Arkansas River and invaded Missouri with an army 
of twenty-two thousand men. His objective point was 
St. Louis, which had been stripped of its garrison. Time 
was indispensable to collect troops to defend St. Louis 
and drive Price from the State. On the 26th of Septem- 
ber, 1864, Ewing was despatched b)- General Rosecrans, 
then commanding the department, to check and delay 
Price's army, if possible, at the terminus of the Iron 
Mountain Railroad, ninety miles south of St. Louis. 
He collected ten hundred and eight}' men and encoun- 
tered Price's advance in a defile of the Boston Mountains, 
four miles south of Pilot Knob. Ewing was slowly 
forced back into Fort Davidson, a small earth-work at 
the entl of the railroad. Price thereupon sent Shelby's 
division to cut P'.wing off from retreating on St. Louis, 
while with Marmaduke's and Pagan's divisions, on the 
afternoon of the 27th of September, he assaulted the 
fort, lie was repulsed with great slaughter, leaving on 
the plain more killed and wounded than the entire num- 
ber of luving's command. He then placed batteries on 
Shepherd's Mountain, which o\erhangs the fort, and 
ciimnienced to shell the garrison, when darkness sus- 
[)cnilcii the conflict. 

Late that night Ewing spiked his guns, except two 
which he took with him, and, blowing up the magazine, 
slipi^ed through the enemy's lines b\- an unfrequented 
road and struck out for St. Louis. At daybreak he en- 
countered Shelby's pickets, and thereupon turned west 
and, marching rapidly all night, reached a ridge dividing 
the Cortois from the Huzza, where the enemy overtook 
him next morning. With his two field-guns he held the 
[)ursucrs at ba\' until dark, when he had to descend to the 
plain. Here he was heavilj' outnumbered and nearly 
surrounded, but b\' desperate fighting and marching 
reached Harrison Station, four miles distant, where, 
finding a large ijuantity of railroad ties, he intrenched 
his command so formidabh- that night that the next day 
the enemy abandoned the pursuit. By this campaign he 
so delayed and crippled the invading army as to secure 
the -safety of St. Louis and contribute largely to Price's 
expulsion from the State. 

Since the war General Pawing has been conspicuous at 
the bar anil in Congress and as Denxocratic candidate for 
governor of Ohio, for ten years past practicing law suc- 
cessfull)', chiefl}' in New York City. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



37 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

Alexander Hamilton, the ablest jurist and states- 
man of the early period of the United States, and des- 
tined long to be classed among the greatest men of 
the great American republic, was born on the island of 
Nevis, one of the Antilles, January ii, 1757, his father 
being a Scotch emigrant to the West Indies, his mother 
the daughter of a Huguenot physician. The opportu- 
nities for school training afforded on the island were 
very limited, and at the age of thirteen the boy entered 
the counting-house of Mr. Nicholas Cruger, of the port 
of Saint Croi.x, in which he remained for three years, 
taking every opportunity to improve himself by reading, 
and giving particular attention to the subjects of trade 
and finance. During these years he was left for a period 
in sole charge of the house, and managed it with a skill 
and judgment which few men could have surpassed. 

In 1773 he came to New York, an opportunity for a 
more liberal education having opened to him. Here he 
spent a year in the grammar school at Elizabethtown, 
and in the spring of 1774 entered King's (now Columbia) 
College as a student, being permitted by special privi- 
lege to pursue his studies on a plan laid out by himself 
On the outbreak of the troubles in Boston, Hamilton 
set himself to stud\- the political question between the 
colonics and the mother-country, applying himself to it 
with his usual deep research and close reasoning. As 
a result he felt it his dut\- to take part with the colonists 
against the " omnipotence of Parliament." With the 
ardor which was a constituent of his nature, he took an 
active part in the public discussions of the day, and 
before the end of his eighteenth year had established 
his reputation as an orator and writer. 

While still in college he joined the New York militia, 
beginning his military life as captain of its first company 
of artillery employed in the Continental service. He 
c[ualified himself for this position by instruction under 
an experienced officer and se\eral mcnths of daily drill 
duty. W^ith his company he took acti\e part in the 
battle of Long Island, and at Harlem Plains, Chatter- 
ton's Hill, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Princeton. His 
courage and skill as a soldier attracted the admiring 
attention of Washington, and in January, 1777, he be- 
came the private secretary of the commander-in-chief, 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He continued on 
Washington's staff till April, 1781, and in 17S0 was 
married to Elizabeth Schuyler, daughter of the distin- 
guished soldier and statesman, General Philip Schuyler. 
After a short period of absence from the army, he 
returned to it, distinguished himself by a brilliant attack, 
and was present with a command at the surrender of 
Lord Cornwallis. 




During this period Hamilton's ability as a statesman 
was clearly displayed. The defects of the existing con- 
federation of States were exposed by him, and a letter 
which he wrote in September, 1780, contained the first 
suggestion towards a more permanent form of govern- 
ment. In the following year, in a letter to Robert Morris, 
he laid down a complete scheme of national finance, in- 
cluding a plan for a United States bank. He was a 
member of the convention of delegates at Annapolis in 
1786, and was a very active agent in bringing about the 
Constitutional Convention of 1787, over whose delibera- 
tions he exercised an important influence. At this period 
he contributed his profound political writings to the 
Federalist. 

In the following year it was the eloquence and political 
sagacity of Hamilton that induced the New York con- 
vention to ratif}' the Constitution, converting a minority 
into a triumphant majority. On the formation of the 
new government, Washington appointed him Secretary 
of the Treasury. The appointment proved a most wise 
one. Hamilton achieved an immediate success in adjust- 
ing the fiscal affairs of the countrj' which is without 
parallel, and prosperity quickly followed his judicious 
measures. His state papers written during the two 
periods of W^ashington's administration are regarded as 
masterpieces in their particular line. In his later life 
Hamilton rose to the highest level in the legal profession 
in New York. While thus engaged, his active interest 
in public affairs brought him the enmity of Aaron Burr. 
An insult followed, a challenge, and a duel, and on 
July II, 1804, Hamilton fell mortally wounded before 
the pistol of Burr. Thus died one of the noblest of 
American citizens bj' the hand of one of the most 
despicable. 



38 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




REAR-ADMIRAL STHl'HEN BLAKHR LUCE. 

Reak-Admikal Stephen Blakek Luce has been 
upon so many stations, and in so many different kinds 
of duty, that it would be impossible, within our limited 
space, to enumerate them. He was born in New York ; 
entered the naval service as midshipman in 1 841, when 
thirteen years and a half old. In 1889, by operation of 
law, he was placed upon the retired list, having then a 
total sea-.scrvice of thirty -three years; other duty, twelve 
years and three months ; and " uncmplo)cd," one year, 
eleven months. While a midshipman he served in the 
Mediterranean and on the coast of Brazil ; and from 
1845 to 1848, in the "Columbus," 74, circumnavigating 
the globe, visiting Japan, and serving on the coa.st of 
California during the Mexican War. He next went to 
the Naval Academy, becoming passed midshipman in 
1848. After a three years' cruise in the Pacific, he was 
upon astronomical duty, the Home Squadron, and the 
Coast Survey, up to September, 1855, when he was pro- 
moted to be master, and to lieutenant the day after. 
After a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico and the West 
Indies, he went to the Naval Academy as assistant in- 
structor. While there the ci\il war broke out. Lieu- 
tenant Luce was ordered to the frigate " Wabash," on 
the Atlantic blockade, and in her took part in the actions 
at Hatteras Inlet and Port Royal. He commanded a 
howitzer launch of the " Wabash," in a reconnoissance in 
force, and an engagement at Port Ro)-al Ferry, by com- 
bined military and naval forces. In January, 1862, he 
was ordered to the Naval Academy, which had been 
removed to Newport during the war, and in July of that 



year was commissioned lieutenant-commander. In the 
summer of 1 863 he commanded the " Macedonian," on 
her practice cruise to Europe, and, upon his return, was 
ordered to the command of the monitor " Nantucket," 
of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. 

While in command of " Nantucket" he engaged Forts 
Moultrie and Sumter a number of times. In August, 
1864, he was ordered to coniniantl the "Sonoma," 
double-cnder, of the North Atlantic Squadron, but was 
almiist immcdiateK" transferred to the command of the 
" Canandaigua," and from her to the " Pontiac," where 
he remained until June, 1865. While in command of the 
, " Pontiac" engaged Battery Marshall. In January, 1865, 
reported to General Sherman, at Savannah, for duty in 
connection with army operations. With great difficulty 
got the " Pontiac" up to Sister's Ferr)-, fortj' miles above 
Savannah, and guarded the pontoon bridge there while 
Slocum's wing passed into South Carolina. Lieutenant- 
Commander Luce next ser\cd as commandant of mid- 
shipmen at Annapolis ; commanding, in 1 866, the 
practice squadron of si.x vessels. In 1867 he com- 
manded the practice cruise, which extended to European 
waters, with three ships. In 1868 he took the same 
squadron on a practice cruise, visiting West Point, and 
then going to Europe. He had been commissioned as 
commander in 1866; commanded the " Mohongo," on 
the Pacific, and the "Juniata," of the European Squad- 
ron. In September, 1872, he was serving as equipment 
officer at the Boston Na\y-Vard, and was commissioneil 
captain in December of that year. During the " \'ir- 
ginius" excitement he was ordered to command the 
" Minnesota," but returned to his former duty in a siiort 
time. I lis next duty was the command of the " Hart- 
ford," from w hich he went to that of inspector of train- 
ing-ships, in which he has always shown an enlightened 
interest and fostering care. From Januar)- i, 1878, to 
January 1, 1881, he was in command of the "Minne- 
sota" training-ship, on our coast. From .April, 188 1, to 
January, 1884, he was in command of the Training 
Scpiadron, constantly cruising. Commoilore in i88i,he 
was the next year ordered as president of the Com- 
mission on the Sale of the Nav\'- Yards. In July, 1884, 
he was ordered to the command of the North Atlantic 
Squadron, as acting rear-admiral ; and in September of 
the same j-ear made president of the U. S. Naval War 
College, at Coastus Harbor, Rhode Island. He was 
promoted to rear-admiral in October, 1885. From June, 
1S86, to Februaiy, 1889, he was in command of the 
North .Atlantic Station. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



39 



ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF GEORGE W. MELVILLE. 

It is rare to find liigh professional ability and the ca- 
pacity to attend scrupulously t<i office-work and details 
combined in the same indi\idLial with the daring sjjirit 
and dauntless courage which lead to gallant deeds in the 
face of the most distressing conditions under w^hich men 
can be placed. The " sound body" enabled the " sound 
mind" to do such things as Melville has accomplished, — 
for his life has been one of strange and stirring ad- 
venture. 

Although his name will ever be associated with the 
" Jeannette Expedition," he was a volunteer for two other 
well-known similar ventures to the far North, each of 
which accomplished their mission " tiUo, cito, jiicniidc" — 
owing, in great measure, to the knowledge which he had 
of the things to be provided, — a complete outfit being 
the necessary adjunct of success in undertakings of this 
nature. 

De Long, in his journals, bears full testimony to his 
cheerful and steady co-operation during that trying drift 
through entirely unknown seas. When the supreme 
moment came, and w^ith there own resources cut down to 
the lowest amount, the party had to make for an un- 
known shore, over a vast extent of ice and water, Mel- 
ville was equal to the occasion. He commanded one of the 
three boats engaged in the retreat, and accomplished the 
feat of bringing that whole btiat's-crew out alive, — while 
the others perished, either in the icy waters of the Arctic 
or the equally inhospitable waste about the Lena delta. 
Most men would have thought that the}' had done 
enough ; but, after a few days of rest to recuperate his 
forces, he again took his life in his hands and led a 
party which discov-ered, far down in that lonely, wintry 
waste, the bodies of De Long, Dr. Ambler, and their 
ill-starred companions. One boat, he rightly judged, 
had been lost during a night of storm, as they were 
approaching the land. In searching for the other boat's- 
crew " he fought his perilous and painful way, mile by 
mile, through the rigors of perpetual winter and floating 
archipelagoes of ice along the Arctic coast for over five 
hundred miles, surviving the privations which had been 
fatal to so many, and persevered until his search was re- 
warded by the recovery of all the records of the " Jean- 
nette Expedition." In the face of obstacles presented by 
the worst season, he penetrated to the mouth of the Lena 
in his search, and left no doubt that the unfortunate crew 
of the third boat had not succeedetl in reaching the shore. 
As it was, he contributed to the geography of the world 
a new' and important chart of that region. 

It was under his charge that the rude but massive 
tomb was built which sheltered the poor remains of 
the lost, " and the rites of Christian burial w.ere per- 
formed over these martyrs to science and humanity, 
where perpetual winter had embalmed them." They 




were, however, subsequently exhumed b}' order ot the 
United States government and brought home, to be 
laid among the dust of their kin, with impres.sive cere- 
monies. The Russian government offered every assist- 
ance to the officers who accomplished this pious mission, 
while our own government conferred substantial rewards 
upon those who had aided Melville in his extremity. 
For his Arctic services Engineer Melville afterwards 
received special promotion, with the approbation of the 
whole navy and of the country at large. 

Engineer-in-chief Melville was born in New York, of 
Scottish lineage, on January lo, 1841, and his education 
was acquired in the public schools, the school of the 
Christian Brothers, and the Brooklyn Polytechnic School. 

He entered the navy at the outbreak of the civil war, 
and served well and faithfully, both during that ti->Mng 
period and afterwards, — when peace came, — on our own 
coast, in the West Indies, in Brazil, and on the East India 
Station ; beside duty at navy->-ards. He was everywhere 
a favorite, on account of his cheerful, modest, and unos- 
tentatious deportment, as well as for the zeal, bravery, 
and endurance which he showed on all occasions which 
were calculated to bring forth those qualities, — and 
they are not few, even in the ordinary course of service. 
Melville was made engineer-in-chief of the navy and 
chief of the Bureau of Steam-Engineering in August, 
1887, and in January, 1892, was recommis.sioned in the 
same office, with the entire approbation of the whole 
navy, as well as that of the great industrial establish- 
ments with which he necessarily comes in contact in 
conducting a vast business. 

As an instance of his ability to accomplish unusual 
feats, and his capacity for extraordinary effort, we may 
mention the fact that in the summer of 1887 he prepared 
the general designs of the machinery of five vessels of 
the new na\y. 



40 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




MORIT/ r.lSNER. 

MoKiTZ EisxF.K was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1850, 
and after receiving his education in liis native cit)- became 
an apprentice in a well-knnwn drug house of that place. 
After acquiring some knowledge of tlie business, lie came 
to America when nineteen years old, and settled in Phila- 
delphia. Here he served as clerk for a short time with 
a wholesale drug house, and afterwards with Cramer & 
Small, whose establishment was famous at the time as 
one of the best and most reliable stores not only in 
Philadelphia but in the United States. Here he com- 
pleted the education in the business he had begun in 
Vienna, worked his \\i\y up to the position of first as- 
sistant in a short time, and finall), in i8<So, purchased 
the business of the firm, w ith the aid of his former em- 
ployers, Messrs. Aschonbach & Miller, and became its 
successor. In addition to his business interests, Mr. 
Eisner became the regular correspondent ff)r a number 
of German pharmaceutical journals. 

In 1873, Mr. Eisner visited his native city for the first 
time since leaving it as a youth, acting now as corre- 
.spondcnt for the Pltilndclphia Dcmokrat during the 



World's Exposition in that city. He was also attached 
to the staff of the Xcic York Trihiiiu\\\\\\\ Ha\-ard Ta\-lor 
and G. \ . Smallc}-, who were in \'ienna at the time. lie 
acquired a taste for newspaper work there and also 
upon his return home, and was connected with the 
Pliiladclphia Dcmokrat for about one j'ear, a service 
which went far to fit him for his later work. In De- 
cember, 1874, Mr. Eisner married Miss Anna Zeitz, a 
young lady born in Philadelphia, Returning at the 
solicitation of his former employers to the drug trade, he 
re-entered the employ of Cramer & Small, and succeeded 
them in business in the year above stated. The drug 
business, however, did not give him sufficient latitude for 
the display of his cnerg)-, and, knowing that the treat- 
ment with natural remedies was destined to increase in 
the United States, he began to import the best-known 
mineral waters of F.urope and introduce them to the 
medical profession in the United States. After as.soci- 
ating with himself Mr. Mcndelson, the firm of ICisner & 
Mcndelson introduced the now celebrated Malt l-ixtract 
of Johann Hoff in the United States. The demand for 
this article soon increased to such an extent that the 
manufacturer hatl to erect a large factory in the I'nitcd 
States to sui^ply it. The firm removed its heatl-quarters 
to New York in 1887, and became the representatives of 
the city of Carlsbad, the celebrated mineral water resort 
in Austria, for the sale of the products of said sjjring in 
the United .States, also of the French Government Springs 
of Vich)', Contrexeville Springs, Hunyad Matyas Spring, 
and many of the mo.st famous springs of Europe and 
America. In fact, this house is to-day known as the first 
house in that line here and abroad. The mercantile and 
financial part of the business is under Mr. Mendelsons 
management, while Mr. lusner attemls to the advertising 
department, a service to which his journalistic experience 
well fits him. 

Mr. lusner was a member of many German societies 
in Philadelphia, and a director of the Philadelphia 
Maenncrchor and of the German Club. Mr. Eisner 
is also a director of the Freund.schaft Society of New 
York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



41 



JOSEPH MENDELSON. 

Joseph Mendelson, of the well-known firm of Eisner 
& Mendelson, is a native of Austria, having been born 
at Hohenems, in that country, March 20, 1852. In July, 
1859, he landed with his parents in Philadclpiiia, they 
having joined the tide of emigration setting so strongly 
towards the New World. The youthful emigrant was 
entered as a student in the public schools of Philadelphia, 
and continued in the grades of primary and grammar 
schools till 1864, when, at twelve years of age, he was 
removed from school to begin the business of life. His 
father, Daniel Mendelson, had established a dry-goods 
business at Second Street and Girard Avenue, and, 
although not knowing the language, was one of the 
pioneer advertisers of the dry-goods business in the daily 
papers, and the first advertiser in that line in the Pliila- 
delphia Dcinokrat. Young Mendelson entered his father's 
store, his two brothers, who had taken part in the busi- 
ness, having left it to join the army during the war. 
At the end of two years, however, the business not 
proving successful, he began trade for himself in the 
line of selling notions, etc., to the small stores around 
the city ; and in 1867 entered the wholesale notion house 
which his brothers had opened on Market Street after 
the war. 

In 1869, being still but se\'entecn years of age, he 
opened a retail store, in partnership with another brother, 
at Tenth and South Streets. This was discontinued after 
a year, and he continued in the jobbing business alone 
till 1873, giving all his earnings up to that time to his 
parents. In 1873 he left Philadelphia as a traveling 
salesman for the firm of Feust & Rice, manufacturers of 
fancy cabinet ware. His connection with this firm con- 
tinued for five years, during which his journe\-s took him 
to every section of the United States. 

At the end of this period of service, ]\Ir. Mendelson 
married Miss Hattie August, of New York, the daughter 
of a gentleman who had been a resident of Warrington, 
North Carolina, at the outbreak of the war, but, moved 
by Union sentiments, had freed his sla\-es when Fort 
Sumter was fired upon, and removed to New York. Mr. 
Mendelson returned to Philadelphia after his marriage 
and started there the firm of M. Elkin & Co., manufac- 
turers of ladies' and children's fine shoes, a line of busi- 
ness which proved very successful. The firm was dis- 
solved, however, in 1881, and Mr. Mendelson then went 
into partnership with Mr. H. Gardiner, with whom he 
continued for a year. In 1882 he entered into the firm 
with which he is at present connected, that of Eisner & 




Mendelson, wholesale di'uggists and importers, situated 
at 318-320 Race Street. Mr. Mendelson had, as will be 
seen, for years actively tried one business after another, 
with an energy which could not fail to command success 
in the end. This has come to him in his present line of 
business, in which he has been highly successful, the firm 
being now engaged in the sale of the world-renowned 
Johann Hoff's Malt Extract and various mineral waters. 
In 1886 they started a branch store in New York, and 
after a year there, finding that the branch had grown 
larger than the original Philadelphia house, they con- 
cluded to remove their entire business to that city. 
It is now situated at 152-154 Franklin Street, New 
York. 

The business of this firm has grown until it is now 
large and extensive, with important interests in Europe, 
the house having an office in Berlin, Germany. The 
mercantile and financial part of it is under Mr. Mendel- 
son's management, while Mr. Eisner attends to the ad- 
vertising department. During the past ten years, Mr. 
Mendelson has tra\-elled widely in the interests of his 
business and for other purposes, his tours having ex- 
tended to every large city of the United States and to 
most of the countries of Europe. He visited the Inter- 
national Medical Congress held a few years ago in Ber- 
lin, and has been an earnest and intelligent observer of 
the people of foreign lands and their manners and cus- 
toms. He is a member of several social clubs in New 
York, and also of the Masonic Lodge, No. 206, and of 
the Ancient Chapter, No. i. 



42 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




LIRUTHNANT-COLONhL AND BRHVHT MAiOR- 
GENERAL GOUVERNEUR K. WARREN. 

Lieutenant-Colonel and Bkevet Major-General 
GouvERNEUR K. Wakren was born in New York, and 
graduated from the Military Academy July i, 1850. He 
was promoted brevet second lieutenant Topographical 
Engineers the same day ; second lieutenant September i , 

1854, antl first lieutenant July I, 1S56. He served on 
topographical and li)-drographicai surve\- of the delta of 
the Mississippi; on board for the iiniJniveniLiit of tiic 
canal around the falls of the Ohio ; on surveys for the 
improvement of Rock Island and Des Moines rapids, 
Mississippi River; compiling general map and reports of 
Pacific Railroad explorations ; on Sioux I'^xpedition of 

1855, and engaged in the action of ]5Iue Water; prepar- 
ing maps of Dakota and Nebraska, and at the Militarj- 
Academy as assistant and principal assistant professor of 
mathematics, to A])ril 27, 1861. 

lie was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the E'ifth New 
York Infantry (Zouaves) May 14, 1 861, and colonel of 
the same August 31, 1861. He served in the Depart- 
ment of Virginia from May to July, and was engaged in 
the action at Hig Bethel, Virginia, June 10, 1861. He 
was then in the defences of Haltimore, and constructing 
fort on Federal Hill to March, 1862, being temporarilj- 
detached on an expedition to Northam|>ton and Accomac 
Counties, Virginia, in November and December, 1861. 
He then participated with his regiment in all the cam- 
paigns of the Ami)- of the Potomac until Maj- I, 1865, 
and was engaged in the siege of ^'orktown, skirmish on 
Pamunkey River, cajiture of liano\er Court-House, 
battle of Gaines's Mill (wounded), Malvern Hill, and 
skirmish at Harrison's Landing; battle of seconil Hull 
Run, skirmish near Centreville, battle of Antietam, and 
skirmish with the enemy's rear-guard on the Potomac. 

He was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers Sep- 



tember 26, 1862, and was engaged with his brigade in 
the march to Falmouth and the battle of Fredericksburg. 
On the 4th of P^ebruary, 1863, he was chief topograph- 
ical engineer of the Army of the Potomac, and was 
engaged in action on Orange Pike, storming of Maiye 
Heights, and battle of Salem. He was appointed major- 
general of volunteers May 3, 1863, anil was engaged in 
the battle of Gettysburg (wounded). Then he was em- 
ployed in the construction of bridges and making recon- 
noissances while pursuing the enemy from that place. 
He was in temporar)- command of the Second Army 
Corps from August 12, 1863, to March 24, 1864, and 
participated in the movement to Culpepcr and the Rap- 
idan, and engaged in the combat at Auburn and Bristoe 
Station, skirmish at Bull Run and Kell)''s P^ord, opera- 
tions of Mine Run, and demonstration upon the enem\- 
across Morton's Ford, until I""ebruar\' 6, 1864, when he 
was placed in command of the P'ifth Army Corps, with 
which he was engaged in the battles of the Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania, North Anna, Tolopotomy Creek, Bethesda 
Church, Cold Harbor, White Oak Swamp, assaults on 
Petersburg, siege of Petersburg, Mine Explosion, actions 
for the occupation of the Weldon Railroad, combat of 
Pecble's I'arni, Chapel House, skirmish near Hatcher's 
Run, destruction of Weldon Railroad to Meherrin River, 
combat near Dabney's Mill, movement to White Oak 
Ridge, and battle of I'ive P'orks, Virginia, April i, 1865, 
and then in citniniand of the defences of Petersburg to 
May I, 1865. 

General Warren resigned his volunteer connnission 
May 27, 1865, and was brevetted for " gallant and meri- 
torious services," lieutenant-colonel, June 27, 1862, at 
the battle of Gaines's Mill ; colonel, July 4, 1863, at the 
battle of Gett)'sburg, Pennsj-lvania ; brigadier-general, 
March 13, 1865, at the battle of Bristoe Station; and 
major-general, March 13, 1^63, in the field during the 
Rebellion. 

General Warren's career had been a remarkable one, 
and he rose gradually in rank and trusted position until 
relieved of his command by General Sheridan, just after 
the battle of Imvc Forks, regarding which General Abbot, 
in the summary of his case as established by testimony 
before a court of inquiry, says : 

"This charge had put an end to all lesistancc. Sur- 
rounded by his captures and flushed with victory, Warren 
sent back a staff officer to report to General Sheridan, 
and asked for further orders. These orders came in 
writing. They relieved him from the command of his 
corps, and ordered him to report to (leiieral (jrant. " 

General Warren was promoted lieuten.int-coloiiel of 
engineers, March 4, 1 879, and served from the tiuK' the 
war closed until his death upon many important duties 
connected with the Coqis of pjigineers. He died Augu.st 
2, 1882, at Newport, Rhode Island, aged fifty-two. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



43 



RICHARD HARDING DAVIS. 

Among the \-oungcr literary men of tin's countr\-, none 
has attained a more rapiil or promising reputation than 
the subject of our present sketch, Richard Harding 
Davis, who was born in Philadelphia in 1864, and is 
now, at thirty >-ears of age, classed among the leading 
litt'eralciirs of the United States. He may be looked on 
as an author by heredity, being the son of L. Clarke 
Davis, the editor of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, and 
of Rebecca Harding Davis, one of the most distinguished 
of the women authors of America. The literary career 
of Mrs. Da\is is too well known to call for more than 
passing mention. She was born at Wheeling, West 
Virginia, about 1840, married j\Ir. Da\is in 1863, and is 
the authoress of a number of highly original and effective 
American novels, including " Life in the Iron Mills," 
"Waiting for the Verdict," "Dallas Galbraith," "John 
Andross," and others, which have given her a wide 
reputation among the readers of the higher grade of 
fictitious literature. 

Mr. Davis received his education at Lehigh and the 
Johns Hopkins LTniversities. After graduating from the 
latter institution he turned his attention to literary work, 
stimulated, doubtless, by the example and success of his 
parents, and in 1887 began his journalistic labors as a 
reporter on the Philadelphia Record. He continued en- 
gaged in this line of literar\' labor for two years, part of 
this time being spent in England as correspondent to the 
home press. At the end of this time he went to New 
York, under an engagement to write special articles for 
the Evening Sun. 

While thus actively engaged in journalistic labors, the 
young seeker for literary fame aspired to higher honors 
than were likely to come to the reporter or correspondent. 
He had inherited an artistic imagination from both par- 
ents, and showed promising powers in the line of fiction, 
which were destined to bring him an early and merited 
reputation. This came to him with the publication of 
his rac}- and original story of " Gallagher," which proved 
a complete and brilliant success, and brought the young 
author into sudden prominence in the literary arena. The 
story, as most readers will know, is that of a bo\' in a 
newspaper office, wiio succeeds by quickness of resources, 
agility, and indomitable pluck in bringing important news 
to the paper under circumstances in which any boy with 
less " go" in him than Gallagher would have failed. Mr. 
Davis's knowledge of the inner life of the office served 
him in good stead in this narrative, which is so bright 
and breez)- that it took the reading world by storm. 

His success won immediate recognition. He was 




offered and accepted in 1890 the editorial management of 
Harper's Weekly, and lield it successfully for a j'ear, wiien 
he resigned it in order to devote his time wholly to 
literary work of a more original and attractive class. 
During the period of his editorial work he had been 
producing from time to time short stories of marked 
originalit}- of incident and handling, through nian\' of 
which mo\es a character whom he has made famous in 
recent fiction. This is the eas\'-going and clear-minded 
aristocrat " Van Bibber," who in the hands of our word 
artist has made his appearance in a quick succession of 
amusing stories and striking situations. Mr. Da\is's 
stories have been published in book form, including a 
volume made up of " Gallagher" and other stories, " Van 
Bibber and Others," and " Stories for Boys." 

His literary work, however, has been by no means 
confined to fiction. His experience abroad has given 
rise to striking pictures of English life, published in 
Harper's Magazine, and to his descriptive volume, " Our 
English Cousins." He has published, besides, an his- 
torical work, " The Rulers of the Mediterranean," and 
" The E.xiles." 

Mr. Davis is probabK- the most popular of the younger 
corps of American writers. His books have been trans- 
lated into French, German, and Italian ; while he has 
received from the Sultan of Turkey the Order of the 
Medjidie, in recognition of the justice of his descriptions 
of Eastern affairs. He is still young in the art of litera- 
ture, and there is a promising future before him in the 
various fields of authorship to which he has devoted 
himself. _ 



44 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN LHSTHR WAIJ.ACK. 

The Wallacks were a family of dramatists. James 
William Wallack, born in London in 1795, the son of a 
prominent London actor, and father of the subject of 
our sketch, was an actor of admired powers, higlily ver- 
satile in ability, and particularly brilliant in light comedy. 
His brother Henry, and iiis two sisters, Maiy and Eliza- 
beth, were also prominent on the stage. He began his 
stage life at the age of seven, and made his first appear- 
ance in America in 1818, in the character of Macbeth, at 
the Park Theatre, New York. His son, John Lester, 
was born in New York, January 1, 1820. The father 
soon after returned to London, where he became stage 
manager of the Drurj- Lane Theatre, and the son was 
brought up in that city till twenty jears of age, when 
he received a commission in the Uritish army as lieu- 
tenant. After two years' military .service he resigned, 
moved by an hereditary predilection for the stage, and 
made his first appearance at Dublin, in the character of 
Don Pedro in " Much Ado about Nothing. " He pkned 
here two seasons, then for a short time in Edinburgh, 
and made his tiibid in London, November 16, 1846. Uj> 
In this time he was known only as John W. Lester. 

The rising young actor come to the city of his birth, 
and of his subsetpient career, in 1S47, where he made 
his first appearance, under the above name, at the Broad- 
way Theatre, on September 27, as Sir Charles Cold- 
stream in Houcicault's play of "Used Up." He re- 
mained for two years at this theatre, jjlaying in a variety 
of characters, then acted in succession at the Bowery, Bur- 
ton's, and Niblo's Theatres, and afterwards at Brougham's 
Lyceum, where he became ver>- favorably known, and 
was cast in tiie leading parts. He had now appeared 



in Hamlet, Romeo, and other Shakespearian parts, and 
was rapidly acquiring a reputation as an actor of unusual 
abilities. 

In 1852 he made his first appearance, under his father's 
auspices, in the theatre on Broome Street, then managed 
by the elder Wallack, and afterwards known as Wallack's 
Theatre. Here he took the leading parts, and acted as 
stage manager, remaining with his father until 1862, 
when the latter retired, and died in 1864. The elder 
Wallack was an actor of great histrionic abilit}-, antl of 
much success as a manager, owing to the excellence of 
his stock companies, and his care as to propriety of 
costume and scenery. He was eminent as Rolla in 
" Pizarro," and in similar parts, being most popular in 
comedy. 

After the retirement of his father, Lester took his 
place as proprietor, o[)ening soon after a second Wal- 
lack's Theatre, — now known as the Star Theatre. He 
continued his father's methods of management, keeping 
a stock company of the highest grade, and doing his 
utmost to make his house the liome of the legitimate 
drama in the metropolis. His marked ability as an 
actor, particularly in young men's parts and in light 
comedy, and his unusual versatility, niaile him a great 
favorite in New York, and also throughout the countr)-, 
where he matle occasional starring excursions, which 
were attended with remarkable success. His repertoire 
of characters was one of the largest possessed by any 
American actor, his most effective i)arts being Claude 
Melnotte in " The Latly of Lyons," Harry Dornton 
in " The Road to Ruin," Dan h'elix in " The Wonder," 
Charles Surface in " The School for .Scandal," St. Pierre 
in " The Wife, " Young Marlowe in " She Stoops to 
Concjuer," and Sir Charles Coldstream in "Used Up." 
He also became a favorite in " The Serious Family" and 
" Rosedale," the latter a highly popular play of his own 
production. 

In the season of 1882-1883 the attractixe new Wal- 
lack's Theatre, at Broadwaj- and Thirtieth Street, was 
opened with the "School for Scandal," with a ver)- fine 
cast. Yet despite Wallack's success as manager and 
actor, he was not successful financially, partly from ex- 
travagance and generosity, and on May 21, 1S88, when 
he retired from the management of Wallack's Theatre, 
he was almost penniless. His friends accorilingly got 
up for iiim a benefit testimonial on a magnificent scale, 
the |)lay being " Hamlet," the locality the Metropolitan 
Opera House, the cast including most of the leading 
American actors. It produced the large sum of $20,000, 
unprecedented on such an occasion. Wallack did not 
live long to enjoy it, dying at Stamford, Connecticut, 
September 6, 18S8. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



45 



GEORGE CLINTON. 

George Clinton, fourth Vice-President of tlie United 
States, was born in Ulster County, New York, July 26, 
1739. He was the youngest son of Colonel Charles 
Clinton, who had come to this country in 1729, and was 
the grandson of an officer in the army of Charles I. 
The son was trained b\- his father, and in earh- life 
showed great enterprise, accompanj-ing his father in 
Bradstreet's expedition against Fort Frontenac, in 1756, 
and doing duty on a priwiteer during the French and 
Indian War. At tiie age of twenty he was made clerk 
of the Ulster County Court. Afterwards he studied law, 
and in 1764 was admitted to the bar and appointed 
surrogate. His political career began in 1768, when he 
was elected to the Colonial Assembly, in which he soon 
became prominent as a defender of the liberties of the 
people. 

At the period of the outbreak of the Revolutionary 
War, in 1775, he was a member of the Continental Con- 
gress, and as such, in 1776, voted for the Declaration of 
Independence. Before this momentous document was 
ready for his signature, however, he was called upon to 
serve his country in another capacity, as commander 
of a brigade of militia, a position which was confirmed 
by Congress in the next year by his appointment to the 
grade of brigadier-general. He rendered distinguished 
service in this capacity, and became known as the 
"champion of the Highlands," while in 1777 he de- 
fended I'ort Montgomery against Sir Henry Clinton, 
who attacked it for the purpose of opening communi- 
cations with General Burgoyne. Though unsuccessful 
in the defense of this post, General Chnton succeeded 
in preventing the co-operation aimed at between the two 
British commanders. 

General Clinton's military career was soon changed 
for a ci\il one. He served as a deputy to the New York 
Provincial Congress which framed the first State con- 
stitution in 1776, and at the first election held under 
this constitution, April 20, 1777, he was elected to both 
offices of governor and lieutenant-governor. He accepted 
the former position, and continued to serve as governor 
of New York till 1795, being five times re-elected. He 
found himself much harassed in his administration during- 
the war by the Tories, but his numerous re-elections 
show the high regard in which he was held by the 
people. In 1782, on the occasion of the evacuation of 
New York by the British, Governor Clinton marched 
in with Washington to take possession. In 1788 he 
presided over the State convention for the adoption of 
the Federal Constitution. To this instrument he was 
opposed, on the ground that it too greatly restricted 
the power of the States, but on learning that nine States 




had adopted it, he and his party withdrew their opposi- 
tion. 

In 1789, Governor Clinton urged the State Legislature 
to encourage the establishment of common schools, by 
setting aside lands in each county for their support, and 
in 1 79 1 became an advocate of improvement of internal 
communication by canals, thus inaugurating the move- 
ment which was afterwards to be carried to completion 
by his nephew, De Witt Clinton. 

In 1792, on the occasion of the second election of 
Washington to the Presidency, Clinton was nominated 
by the Anti-Federal party for Vice-President, and re- 
ceived fifty electoral votes to seventy-seven for John 
Adams. John Jay opposed him as candidate for the 
governorship of New York in 1792, and received a ma- 
jority of the votes, but the votes of several counties 
were rejected for some informality, and Clinton was 
declared elected. In 1795 he declined a renomination, 
on the plea that he had served the public in elective 
offices for thirty years. Yet in 1801 Aaron Burr per- 
suaded him to run again for the governorship, as candi- 
date of the Anti-Federal party, and he was once more 
elected. Burr's skillful management in this election 
brought him into such prominence before the country 
that he was elected to the Vice-Presidency. At the 
next Presidential election, however, Burr had lost his 
standing with the people, and Clinton was accepted as 
the candidate of his party, and elected Vice-President 
for Jefferson's second term. In 1808, on the election of 
Madison, Clinton again became Vice-President, and in 
181 1, while presiding in the Senate, gave the casting 
vote against granting a new charter to the United States 
Bank. He died April 20, i8i2. 



46 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




- -^ 



JOHN JACOB ASTOR. 

John Jacob Astok, the first of the New York Astors, 
now so prominent anion<^ tlie wcaltlu' inhabitants of that 
city, was of German origin, his place of birtli being 
Waldorf, near Heidelberg. Born there in 1763, he left 
his father's farm at the age of sixteen and set out on 
foot for the Rhine, in search of that good fortune which 
was to come to him in such full measure. While resting 
under a tree during this journey, he is said to ha\c made 
three resolutions : " To be honest, to be industrious, and 
never to gamble ;" wise resolves which he adhered to 
throughout his long life. His elder brother was then in 
business in London, in the manufacture of musical 
instruments. He was joined here by John Jacob, who 
entered into business with him, and continued thus 
engaged for four years, wiien, in 1783, at the age of 
twenty, he set .sail for this countrj-, landing in Baltimore 
with a stock of musical instruments which he had brought 
with him. 

Making his way to New "^'ork, his future place of 
residence, the far-seeing young merchant e.xchangetl his 
instruments for furs, which he took to London, where he 
disposed of them at great advantage. This success in 
his first business venture determined the course of his 
future proceedings. It was evident to him that there was 
a fortune in furs, and he resolved to devote himself to this 
branch of trade. To jjrcpare himself for it he made a 
careful study of the different kinds of furs, while at the 
same time acquainting himself with the demands of the 
various European markets for gof)ds of this descri])tion. 
Returning to America, he established himself in New 
York and entered actively into the business of pur- 
chasing and ship|)ing fiirs. Such was his enteqjrise 
and thrift that he soon found himself able to ship his 
furs in his own vessels, which brought back to him 



cargoes of foreign produce, thus netting him a double 
profit. 

Fortune came to the young merchant with highly 
encouraging rapidity. In sixteen years after first engag- 
ing in trade his wealth had grown to a quarter million of 
dollars, — a great sum for that period. Nor was this the 
product of chance and good luck, but was largel\- due 
to his diligent oversight and unusual adaptation to busi- 
ness. It is said that when his commerce had grown 
so largely as to cover the seas, he kept a minute 
supervision over the doings of his shipmasters and 
supercargoes, and rarely, if e\-er, failed in judgment or 
erred through imperfect knowledge of the details of his 
business. 

As his trade increased in proportions his enterprise 
correspondingh' developed. He conceived the ambitious 
scheme of extending his fur trade to the Pacific b\' means 
of a line of trading-posts extending from the great lakes 
to the Missouri, along that stream to the head-waters of 
the Columbia, and down the latter river to its mouth. 
In April, 181 1, he founded the town of Astoria, at the 
mouth of the Columbia, as a central depot from which, 
by getting possession of one of the Sandwich Islands, 
he hoped to be able to ship furs directly to China 
and India. This great scheme proved unsuccessful 
through disasters to two of his expeditions and the de- 
sertion of one of his principal agents, who betrayed his 
plans to the British Northwest Fur Company. The 
latter was more innnediatch- on the ground, was some- 
what unscrupulous in its methods, and succeeded in 
preventing the consummation of Astor's scheme. The 
war of I Si 2 also checked the ]Drosperity of Astoria for 
a period. 

Meanwhile, Astor's commercial connections increaseil 
until his ships were found in c\ery .sea, while his wealth 
grew with steady rapidit\-. He in\ested his monej' 
largely in real estate, erected numerous buildings, public 
and private, and, through the immense increase in value 
of this kind of ]iroi)crty in New York during the first 
iialf of the centur)', foimd himself by the )'ear 1848 
possessed of an estate estimated at $20,000,000. He 
died March 29, 1848, leaving the bulk of his estate to 
his son William B., in whose hands it augmented till at 
his death in 1875 it was estimated at $50,000,000. It has 
continued to increase in the hamls of the )-ounger de- 
scendants of the family. 

Astor left one highl)- important public legacy, a sum 
of $400,000 for the establishment of a public librar\- in 
New York. To this beciuest his son ackled nearly as 
much more, and in 1S81 his grandson still further in- 
creased the endow nicnt, so tliat tjie Astor Library is now 
one of the most liberallj- endowed institutions of its kind 
on this continent, and among the most important institu- 
tions in the city of New York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



A7 



GENERAL JOHN A. DIX. 

John Adajis Dix, a distinguished soldier and states- 
man, was born at Boscawen, New Hampshire, July 24, 
1798. He was placed as a student in the college of the 
Sulpicians, Montreal, but was removed from there when 
fourteen years of age b\- his father in consequence of the 
impending war, and employed as a cadet at Baltimore, in 
aid of his father, who was a lieutenant-colonel in the 
ami)' and then engaged there on recruiting service. The 
boy while thus engaged continued his studies at St. 
Mary's College, Baltimore, studying Latin, Greek, Span- 
ish, and mathematics. In March, 1S13, he was made an 
ensign in the Fourteenth Infantry, being then the youngest 
officer in the United States army. 

The young soldier began his army life under disastrous 
circumstances. Rev'erses took place in the field, and 
disease attacked tlie camp, to which his father fell a 
victim, leaving a widow and eight children, while the 
estate which he possessed had been long neglected 
during his service to his country. 

In Alarch, 18 14, the young officer became third lieu- 
tenant, and in June was placed on the artillery staff of 
the army. Near the close of the war he, as adjutant 
of an independent battalion of nine companies, carried 
through an expedition on the St. Lawrence River, with 
the accompaniments of hardship, danger, and various 
difficulties. In 18 16 he was promoted first lieutenant, in 
1 8 19 became aide-de-camp to General Brown, and in 
1825 became captain of the Third Artillery. In the 
following \-ear, after fourteen years of militarj- service, he 
witlidrew from the arm\-, married, and began the study 
of law, being admitted to the bar in 1828. 

In this new profession he made rapid progress, and, 
entering the field of politics, was made secretary of state 
for New York in 1833, and in 1842 was elected to the 
State Legislature. In 1845 he became a member of 
Congress, in 1853 ^^'i-'' appointed assistant treasurer of 
the United States at New York, and in 1859 became 
postmaster of New York. 

In i860, when secession was threatening and the 
countr)' on the \erge of civil war, he was made a member 
of President Buchanan's cabinet, as Secretary of the 
Treasur}-. In this position, and within a month after re- 
ceiving the appointment, lie signalized his position as a 
loyalist of the stanchest kind by his celebrated telegra- 
phic order to the special treasury agent at New Orleans : 
" If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, 
shoot him on the spot." The ring of this soldier-like 
message, in a time when indecision and inaction marked 
all the movements of the government, was like the blast 




of a trumpet to the lo\'al inhabitants of the North, and 
did much to embolden the weak and stimulate the strong. 
It became the watch-word of the countr\- during the 
succeeding years. 

When President Lincoln took his seat and war broke 
out, the gallant Dix was quick to offer his services to his 
country, and in 1861 was successively appointed brigadier- 
general and major-general in the volunteer, and after- 
wards in the regular ami)-. For some time he was in 
command of the Department of Maryland, and was then 
transferred to Fortress Monroe, with command of the 
Seventh Army Corps. In June, 1863, while in command 
in this quarter, he nio\ed an arnu' up the York River, 
threatened Richmond, and cut Lee's communications. 
Later in this year he was made military commandant of 
the East, and was in command in New York during the 
riots that arose from President Lincoln's draft order of 
1864, and during the following year. 

In September, 1866, General Di.x was sent as minister 
to France, but resigned in 1868 and returned to New 
York. In 1872 he was the Republican candidate for 
governor of New York, and was elected by a majority of 
more than fift)' thousand votes. He was a candidate 
again in 1874, but was defeated. He died April 21, 
1879. 

General Dix was the author of several works, the best 
known among them being his " Speeches and Addresses," 
" Winter in Madeira," and " A Summer in Spain and Flor- 
ence." He edited a literary journal called the Northern 
Light, and published various translations of foreign works, 
including one of the celebrated " Dies Irae." 



48 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAMES T. BRADY. 

jANrics Toi'iiAM Brady, one of the most eminent lawyers 
New York lias known, was born in that cit\- April 9, 
1815, the son of Thomas S. Hracl\-, an accomplishctl 
scholar who came to New Wirk from Irchuul in 1812, 
taught the classics in that city, tiicn studied the law, and 
died a judge of the District Court. The son was mainly 
educated in his father's school, and afterwards studied 
law in his office, gaining so much legal knowledge at an 
early period that when but si.Kteen years of age he acted 
as junior counsel for his father. He was admitted to the 
bar in 1835, when but twenty years of age. \'i)ung as 
he was, his legal genius was already evident, and he 
sprang almost immediately to the front rank of his jjro- 
fession, a position which he held ever afterwartls. To a 
profound knowledge of the law he added a read)- tact, 
extraordinar)' eloquence, genial and courteous manners, 
and conspicuous ability in all tlepartments of legal 
practice. 

He was particularly successful in criminal cases, anil 
for thirty j-ears there was scarcely an important case of 
this character before the New York courts in which he 
was not engaged. He was great also in civil suits, and 
for many years won verdicts in great patent cases, like 
that of Goodyear vs. Day ; in cases involving meilical 
jurisprudence, like the Allaire and Parish will cases ; in 
instances of the moral insanity plea, like the Huntington 
and Cole cases; in great divorce contests, like that of 
Mrs. Edwin Forrest, and in civil suits of other character. 
But his greatest ability displayed itself in criminal suits, 
in which he was usually on the side of the defendant. 
At one time he successfully defended four clients charged 



with murder in one week, and without fee or reward. 
In this field of practice, perhaps his greatest case was 
that in which he acted as counsel for Daniel E. Sickles, 
charged, in 1859, with the murder of Philip B.uton Key 
for the seduction of liis wife. He saved Sickles by his 
great legal skill and overpowering elotjuencc, his manage- 
ment of the case being held as one of the most splendid 
achievements in American jurisprudence. 

Mr. Brady's success before the courts was never secured 
by chicanery, or by availing himself of those subterfuges 
and legal artifices which most lawyers hold themselves 
justified in employing. On the contrar\-, he was always 
frank and honest in his management of a case, skillful 
but invariabl}- courteous in cross-examination, but had 
such tact in argument, was so lucid in his statement of a 
case, and so elocjucnt anti impressive in his appeals, that 
judge and jur\- w ere usuall\- made to see the case through 
his eyes. It is said that he never lost a case where he 
was before a jury for a week. By the end of that time 
thc}- had no opinion but that which he had impressed 
upon them. 

Mr. ]^rad\- was a leader in political aflaiis, but no 
aspirant for office, which, except in a single case, he 
steadil)' refused. In 1843 he acted as district attorney 
for New York, and in 1845 filled for a time the post of 
corporation counsel, but would accept no official pc^sition 
afterwards. PoIiticall\- he was Democratic in his \iews 
and a strong States Rights achocate, but on the outbreak 
of the war he earnestly supported Lincoln's administra- 
tion and maile many strong speeches for the Union cause 
during the war. In 1 861 the Tammany nonn'nation for 
mayor was offered him, but he tleclined to run, and ever 
afterwards refused to accept nominations for city, State, 
or nation. il [)olitical jxisilioiis, though fre(iuenllv urged 
to do so. Near the close of the war he was a|)pointeil 
on a connnission to investigate the management of the 
Department of the Gulf, under (".enerals Butler and 
Banks. He prepared a report on this subject, but it was 
not published, and has never since been maile public. 

Mr. Brady was skilled in literary work, and was a 
frequent contributor to the old Knickerbocker Magazine 
and to other periodicals. One of these contributions, 
entitled "A Christmas Dream," published in Park Benja- 
min's literary paper The New World, was afterwaiils 
issued as a beaulifiilly illustrated Christmas gift hook, 
and had a large sale. It may be said in c<inclusion that 
few men have had so clean a record as James T. Brady, 
and that lie was so conscientious that he would never 
accejJt a case in the court in which his brother was a 
judge, lest some suspicion of partiality in decision might 
appear. He tlied in New York, February 9, 1869. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



49 



CYRUS W. FIHLD. 

The subject of the present sketch was one of four 
brothers, all of whom achie\'ecl ilistinction, including, 
besides himself, Da\'id Dudley Field, the eminent jurist; 
Stephen J. F'icld, Justice in the Supreme Court of the 
United States ; and Henry M. Field, clergyman and 
author. Of them all, however, C\'rus \\'est Field at- 
tained the highest measure of human honor and is best 
known to the world. He was the son of the Rev. David 
D. Field, and was born at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 
November 30, 1819. Of the four brothers he was the 
only one who did not receive a college education, but at 
the age of fifteen, after some school training in his native 
town, was sent to New York, where he obtained a posi- 
tion in the establishment of A. T. Stewart & Co. 

Before he was twenty-one the energetic youth was in 
business for himself, in the manufacture and sale of paper, 
in which, at the end of twelve years, he found himself 
at the head of a prosperous business. In 1853 he parti}- 
retired, and made a tour of several months in South 
America. On his return to New York he had the for- 
tune to meet Mr. F. N. Gisbourne, a Canadian inventor 
and engineer, who had undertaken to lay an underground 
telegraph line across Newfoundland. On talking with 
him over his project, the idea at once came to Mr. Field's 
mind that a telegraph line might be e.xtended across the 
Atlantic, and with his characteristic energy he at once 
took measures to carry out this idea. He held an inter- 
view with four wealthy New Yorkers, Peter Cooper, 
Moses Taylor, Marshall O. Roberts, and Chandler White, 
and so interested them in his project that they sent him 
at once to Newfocmdland, from the go\-cinincnt of which 
lie obtained important concessions. On Maj- 6, 1854, a 
companj- was organized, consisting of Mr. Field and iiis 
four supporters, the indebtedness of the old (Gisbourne) 
company was paid off, and work was actively begun. 

For twelve years after this date Mr. F"ield's time was 
exclusively devoted to the cable, in which service he had 
to bear up against a weight of difficulty and discourage- 
ment which would have crushed an ordinary man. He 
spent much time in Newfoundland, across which island 
a line four hundred miles long was being laid, and crossed 
thirty times to England, where the cable-building work 
was done and whence the capital came. The first effort 
made was to lay a cable across the Gulf of St. Lawerence. 
This cable parted after fortj- miles were laid, and a year's 
delay occurred. Meanwhile the Atlantic had been 
sounded, antl a table-land, now known as the " Tele- 
graphic Plateau," traced from Newfoundland to Ireland. 

While this was being done, Mr. Field was pressing the 
claims of his project on the attention of British capitalists 
with such energy and enthusiasm that a company was 
soon formed, with a capital of ^350,000, three-quarters 
of which was taken in England and one-fourth retained 




by the projectors. On March 3, 1857, an approjjriation 
in support of the project was obtained from Congress, 
and work in cable-building actively entered upon. The 
first effort at cable-laj-ing proved unfortunate, the cable 
parting (Augu.st 1 1, 1857) after three hundred and thirty- 
five miles had been laid. Field returned to England, 
raised new capital, constructed more cable, and started 
again on June 10, 1858, this time the work beginning in 
mid-ocean. The cable again parted when one hundred 
and eleven miles had been laid. The indefatigable ad- 
venturer was not to be discouraged by failure. The di- 
rectors were in despair, but he gave them new hope, and 
on July 17 was again off, and this time succeeded, the 
shore end of the cable being landed on Newfoundland, 
August 5, 1858, and on the i6th a message flashed under 
the ocean from Queen 'V^ictoria to President Buchanan. 

World-wide enthusiasm greeted this great success and 
a grand fclc in honor of Mr. Field was held in New 
York ; but in the very midst of the celebration the cable 
stopped working, and the whole long-drawn anxiety had 
to be endured again. Seven years (mainly on account 
of the civil war) elapsed before a new cable was ready 
to lay, and this parted when si.x hundred miles from 
shore. But there was no give up in Cyrus W. Field, 
and on Jul)- 27, 1866, he was enabled to telegraph under 
the ocean from New-foundland to Ireland, "Thank God, 
the cable is laid, and is in perfect working order." 

Honors were showered upon the successful projector 
from all the ci\ilized world, and numerous gold medals 
and other gifts conferred upon him. These, with his col- 
lection of paintings relating to the laj-ing of the cable, are 
deposited in the Metropolitan Museum, of New York. 
In his after-life Mr. Field was cooperned in cable-laying 
in other seas, and became interested in the elevated rail- 
roads of New York. He died June 11, 1892. 



so 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HENRY J. RAYMOND. 

Henry Jarvis Ravmond, one of New York's most 
notable journalists, was born at Lima, in the State of 
New York, on Januarj' 24, 1820. His early life was 
spent on a farm, whence he was sent to the University of 
Vermont, where he graduated in 1 840. After his gradu- 
ation he made his way to New York City, with the 
purpose of studying law. In that city, however, fortune 
brought him into contact with Horace Greeley, and he 
was inspired to write for the press. When the New York 
Tribune was established in 1841, Raymond became as- 
sociated with Greek-)- in the enterprise, acting as assistant 
editor of the paper. In this connection he displaj-ed 
great skill in the cf)l lection of important news, while his 
reports of public addresses were of unusual excellence. 
He differed with Greeley somewhat, ho\ve\er, in ])olitical 
news, being more conservative in his sentiments, and 
this difference of opinion in time led to the withdrawal 
of Raymond from the Tribune and his acceptance, in 
1 848, of the post of assistant editor on James Watson 
Webb's Courier and Enquirer. At the same jicriod he 
acted as literary adviser for the jniblishing firm of I larper 
Brothers, and the founding in 1850 of Harper s Magazine 
was due to his suggestion. 

Ra)-mond did not confine his ambition to newspapers 
and magazines. He had political desires as well, and in 
1849 acce|>ted the Whig nomination as a candidate for 
the State Legislature, and was elected. In 1850 he was 
chosen Speaker of the Assembly. He afterwards visited 
Europe, and on liis return determined to establish a 
newspaper of his own. In response to this project the 
New York Times made its first ai)[)earance on September 
18, 1851, and was managed with such .skill and judgment 



that it quickly i)ro\cd successful. It has steadily pro- 
gressed from that period to the present. 

In political opinion Raymond was a Whig with anti- 
slavery sentiments, and in the national convention of the 
party held at Baltimore in 1852 he declared this to be 
the ])osition of the Northern Whigs. In the election 
that followed his party was defeated, but his influence in 
his .State was so great that he was chosen lieutcnant- 
govcrniir in 1S54. His opposition to the designs of the 
Southern sla\'e-holders grew more determined as time 
went on, and he took an active part in the formation, of 
the Republican part\' and wrote the " Address to the 
People," which was issued by the first national conven- 
tion of the new party at Pittsburg in 1856. Its first 
candidate for the Presidency, John C. Fremont, being 
defeated in the ensuing election, at the end of his term as 
lieutenant-governor of New York Raymond declined a 
renomination. 

In 1859 he took a second trip to Euroi)c, and while 
there accompanied the French arni\- in its campaign 
against the Austrians in Northern Italy, as war cnrre- 
spondent foi' his journal. After the end of the war he 
returned to this countrj-, where he took an earnest part 
in the Rejjublican national convention at Chicago in 
i860. He advocated before this body the nomination of 
Seward, but when Lincoln appeared to be the choice of 
the convention, he acquiesced in its decision, and con- 
tributed to his election bv the aid of the Times. In 
1 86 1 he was again elected to the New York Legislature, 
and was once more chosen Speaker of the AssembK-. 
On the assemblage of the Re])ublican national conven- 
tion at Haltiniore in 1864, Raymond was piesent as a 
delegate, and gave his voice for the nonn'nation of Lincoln 
for a second term. 

In the same )-ear he was electetl to Congress, and 
after the death of Lincoln and the development of 
President Johnson's new policy towards the Southern 
States, Raymond became one of his few supporters in 
the ranks of his party, a sentiment in which he followed 
the example of Secretary Seward. A convention was 
held in Philadelphia in 1866 in aid of this movement, 
whose "Address and Declaration of Principles" came 
from Raymond's ready ])en. He found, however, that 
the part}' was not with him in this movement, which 
quickl)- endc<l in failuie, and, withdrawing from politics, 
he resolved to devote himself thenceforth to journalism. 
Overwork, however, tokl on him, with perhaps a degree 
of disappointment and depression of spirit at the failure 
of his |)olitical plans, and he died a premature death, 
on June 18, 1869. In aiUlition to his contributions to 
])eriodicals, nearly his only iniblication was a " Life of 
Abraham Lincoln," published in 1865. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



SI 



WILLIAM H. VANDERBILT. 

William Henry Vanderrilt, son, and successor in his 
numerous enterprises, of the railroad potentate Cornehus 
Vandcrbilt, was born at New Brunswick, New Jersey, on 
May 8, 1821, during the time that his father was captain 
of a steamboat plying between New York and that point, 
and his mother had charge of a hotel in that city for the 
accommodation of travelers from New York to Phila- 
delphia, in the anti-railroad days. The father had been 
without education, and had little regard for it, but saw 
that ills son was not left unschooled. He had, however, 
" a poor opinion of his capabilities," and left him to make 
his own wa)- in the world, giving him no assistance and 
very little encouragement. The boy, however, had far 
greater ability than the father suspected, and pushed his 
way with much of the same energy which the elder 
Vanderbilt had displayed. 

He beeran his business life as clerk in a bank, where 
he worked assiduously, and at which he acquired habits 
of careful toil and business system. His bank experience 
was followed by a season of hard work as a farmer on 
Staten Island, during part of which period he served as 
receiver of the Staten Lslanil Railroad, and gained thence 
some useful experience in. railroad management. His 
pluck and enterprise as a farmer and his judgment as 
a receiver at length convinced his father that there was 
far more in his son than he had conjectured, that he was 
a true " chip of the old block," and he showed his appre- 
ciation of the young man's business energy by paying off 
for him a six-thousand-dollar mortgage. But the old 
gentleman kept him carefully outside his own vast enter- 
prises until 1864, when, in his forty-third year, he was 
admitted to a share in the management of the Harlem 
Railroad, the original enterprise in this direction of the 
railroad king. | 

\\'illiani H. X'anderbilt, in this new field of duty, 
quickly showed himself a worthy associate of his father, | 
displaying an abilit}- and assiduity which won the confi- 
dence of the latter, and proved the abilit}- of the son to 
carry on the enterprises which the father hatl inaugurated, 
and to retain and increase the wealth which the latter 
had acquired. This once demonstrated, the father rapidly 
advanced him in position. In 1872 he made him vice- 
president of the Hudson River Railroad, and by his will, 
in 1877, left him the bulk of his great estate, and made 
him his sole successor in the nuuiagement of the vast 
railroad s\-stem which he had built up. The younger 
Vanderbilt was a better educated and much less rugged 
and striking personalit)- than his self-made father, but 
his wealth, his extensive railroad interests, and his daring 




enterprise enabled him to fill no less a space in public 
estimation. Like his father, he had a decided love for 
fast horses, and to this he added an equal taste for 
pictures, of which he collected an extensive gallery, 
which occupied the walls of his magnificent mansion on 
Fifth Avenue and Fifty-first Street. Year after year his 
wealtii, and his power in the railroad world, increased, 
until at the date of his death, which took place suddenly 
on October 8, 1885, he had doubled his father's huge 
accumulations, and possessed an estate estimated to be 
worth not less than jS200,ooo,ooo. 

His public benefactions out of his great wealth were 
small in comparison with its vast sum. In October, 
1884, he gave half a million dollars to the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons of New York. In 1877, on 
the removal of the Egyptian obelisk (which originally 
stood before the Temple of the Sim at Heiiopolis) from 
Alexandria to New York, he bore the expense of its 
transportation and erection at its present locality in 
Central Park. As regards the great bulk of his estate, 
he followed his father's example in seeking to keep it 
intact, leaving nearly the whole of it to his two sons, 
Cornelius and William Kissam, though making abun- 
dant provision for the remainder of his family. 

Of the estate as it now exists, Cornelius is the 
principal manager, he ha\ing inherited his father's 
business capacit)-. He manifests an active interest 
in religious and charitable work, one of his acts of 
benevolent good feeling being the erection of a fine 
building for the benefit and con\-cnience of his railroad 
employes. ^ 



52 



MAKERS OF XEIV YORK. 




ROSWELL 1'. FLOWER. 

Among the self-made men of New \'(i!k, wc cannot 
point to a more marked example than Rosweil Pettibone 
Flower, late governor of the State, who began life at 
Theresa, Jefferson County, New York, August 7, 1835. 
His father, Nathan I-"lower, carried on the wool- carding 
business at Coopcrstown, but died when his son Rosweil 
was but eight years of age, leaving the mother with a 
large family and sparse means of support. The family 
possessed two farms, on which the bo\' labored in the 
inter\'als of school life, and while attending in the winter 
the village high school, he worked at intervals as a farm- 
hand, in a country store, and in a brick-yard. 

After graduating from the high school, at the age of 
si.xteen, he obtained a situation as teacher of a countiy 
school, in which he was obliged not only to tcacii, but 
to con<[ucr b\- strength of arm scholars much older than 
himself During the following years he served in various 
capacities, being for a time in a store in Philadelphia, and 
afterwards in one in Watertown, New ^'<)rk, which he 
left to become deputy postmaster in that town. 

Mr. Flower remained six years in this situation, saving 
about ;SiC)00, with which he purchased an interest in a 
jewelry business, the firm-name being Hitchcock & I""lower. 
He quickly displayed here an excellent business aptitude, 
and in two years was able to buy out his partner, con- 
tinuing the business alone till 1869. While thus occu- 
pied he became a i)romincnt Mason, and in 1859 married 
.Sarah M. Woodruff, a young lady of the town. He also 
gave much time to stud\% reading diligently the Fcdcr- 
(rlist and other political and legal works. 

In 1S69 fortune brought him into a very different posi- 
tion. Henry Keep, one of New York's capitalists of 
that date, who had married Fmma Woodruff, his wife's 
sister, sent for him to the city. Mr. Keep was then on 



his death-bed, and the possessor of an estate valued at 
Si, 000,000, which he desired to leave to his wife, and of 
which he requested Mr. Flower to assume the manage- 
ment. That his trust was well placed is evident from 
the fact that in Mr. Flower's hands the estate has ex- 
panded to S4.ooo,O0O. 

In this new duty Mr. Flower has had occasion to make 
extended journexs over the United States, antl thiough 
the knowledge thus gained of the resources and prospects 
of different sections of the country, and judicious 
purchases, he has himself accumulated a fortune which 
is now estimated in the millions. In 1872 he pas.sed 
through a dangerous illness, and afterwards dissolved 
the brokerage and banking firm of Benedict, Flower & 
Co., in which he had been interested, and devoted him- 
self solely to the care of Mrs. Keep's property. At a 
later date, however, he entered the commission business, 
the firm-name being R. P. Flower & Co. He withdrew 
from this business, which had become large, in 1 890, re- 
taining only the interest of a special partner. 

In politics Mr. Flower has always been a Democrat, 
and has been an active worker for his party. His first 
political position was attained in 1 88 1, w'hen he ran 
against William Waldorf Astor as Representative for the 
eleventh New York district, and was elected by a majority 
of three thousand one hundred. During this term in 
Congress he served on the Committee on lianking, and 
took a prominent part in financial discussions. In 1882 
there was a general demand through the State that he 
should be nominated for go\ernor, but he withdrew 
from the contest in fa\-or of Grover Cleveland. IK- 
declined a subsequent nomination for Congress, antl in 
1885, when nominated for lieutenant-go\ernor without 
his knowledge, immediately declined the proffered honor. 

In 1882, Mr. Flower served as chairman of the IDemo- 
cratic Congressional Committee, and in 1888 was a delc- 
gate-at-large to the national Democratic con\ention at 
St. Louis, and was chosen chainii.ui of the ilelegation. 
He now, against his wish, accepted a nomination to 
Consiress, and was elected a member of the P'iftv-first 
Congress, in w hich he served on the Committee on Ways 
and Means, aiul also on that on the World's Fair. In 
1890 he served as chairman of the Democratic Con- 
gressional Committee, his work in which was so success- 
ful that in 1892 he received the nomination for governor, 
and was elected by a pluralit\- vote of fort)--seven 
thousand nine hundreii and thirty-seven. 

As regards Mr. Flower's career as governor, we need 
but say that it would be well if all governors could leave 
office with as excellent a record. His private life has 
been marked by numerous charities, among them what 
is known as St. Thomas's House on Second .Avenue, 
New York, which is u.sed for Sunday-school and lil)rary 
purposes. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



S3 



ALEXANDER T. STEWART. 

Alexander Turxey Stewart was born at Lisburn, 
near Belfast, Ireland, October 12, 1803, the descendant 
of a Scotch emigrant to the north of Ireland. His 
father died when he was still a school-boy, leaving him 
a small estate. He began his later education with the 
idea of entering the ministry', but this proving little to 
his taste he gave it up, with the consent of his guardian, 
and in 1823 made his wa\' to New York, with no plans 
as to his future life. For a time he was employed as a 
teacher in a select school on Roosevelt Street near Pearl, 
then one of the fashionable localities of New York. 
While here the shrewd young man was wide-awake 
in the observation of business opportunities, and on 
his return to Ireland to obtain the moderate fortune 
left him by his father, he bought a stock of laces 
and linens at Belfast, with which he returned to New 
York. 

On September 2, 1825, he opened a store at 283 
Broadway, with an invested capital of about $3000. He 
shortl}' afterwards married Miss Cornelius Clinch, whose 
father had gone his security for the rent of his store. 
The new merchant was very frugal and economical in 
his habits, sleeping in a room back of the store, and 
paying unremitting attention to his business, which 
quickly showed signs of growth. In 1826 he was able 
to take a larger store, at 262 Broadway, and shortly 
afterwards made a second removal, to 257 Broadway. 

From the start he displa)'etl a genius for business, 
and his success was remarkable, his business increasing 
so enormously and his capital so greatly augmenting 
that in 184S he was enabled to build the great marble 
store— now the wholesale department of the business — 
on Broadway between Chambers and Reade Streets. 
Here the retail business was conducted till 1862, b\- 
which time the northward growth of the city, and the 
up-town movement of the shopping trade, had become 
so declared, that he removed his retail business to the 
immense iron store built by him on the block between 
Broadway and Fourth Avenue, Ninth and Tenth Streets. 
This store, five stories in height, and covering a great 
ground space, was said to be at that time the largest 
store in the world. It cost nearly 52,750,000, and 
within its extensive confines about two thousand em- 
ployes were gathered. The expense of conducting this 
great business was over §1,000,000 yearly, while the 
aggregate of sales in the two stores for the three years 
before Mr. Stewart's death is given as about §203,000,000. 
In addition to his New York establishments he had 
branch houses in different parts of the world, and nu- 




merous mills and factories, his annual income during the 
war being nearly $2,000,000. 

In 1867, Mr. Stewart was chairman of the United 
States Commission to the Paris Exposition. In 1869 
he was appointed by President Grant Secretary of the 
Treasury. To this appointment the objection was made 
that a law existed which prevented an importer of mer- 
chandise from holding this office. The President asked 
that the law should be repealed, and Mr. Stewart offered 
to place his business in the hands of trustees, and devote 
all its profits during his term of office to cliaritable pur- 
poses. This, however, was not considered to remove 
the objection ; the law was not repealed, and he failed to 
enter the Cabinet. 

During his life he did various deeds of charit)', among 
them being the sending a shipload of provisions to Ire- 
land during the famine of 1846, with instructions to 
bring back as many emigrants free of cost as the ship 
would carry. He sent a vessel-load of flour to France 
after the Franco-German War, and sent §500,000 to 
Chicago after the great fire. Among his latest benevo- 
lent doings was the building of a large edifice on Fourth 
Avenue between Thirty-second and Thirty-third Streets 
as a home for working-girls. He also built Garden City, 
on Hempstead Plains, Long Island, made up of airy and 
comfortable homes at moderate cost. 

He died April 10, 1876, leaving an estate estimated 
at 540,000,000. The bulk of this was willed to his wife, 
whom he requested by letter to provide for various 
charities. His wishes in this direction were not carried 
out, though his wife erected a cathedral at Garden City 
as a memorial to him. 



54 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HORACE GREELKY. 

Horace Gkeei.ev, the famous editor nf 77/c 'rribimc, 
was a native of .Amherst. New Hampshire, wliere lie was 
born February 3, 181 1, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, thout^'h 
his progenitors had been in New England for several 
generations. His father, Zaccheus Greeley, owned a farm 
of fifty acres of sterile soil, yielding a bare support to 
his large family. Hefore his son Horace was ten years of 
age lie became bankrupt, and had to flee from the State 
to escape arrest for debt, while his farm was sold \i\ the 
sheriff 

Horace as a chikl was feeble and precocious, learning 
to read while little more than an infant, and (|uite noted 
fur his accurate spelling. After the famil)- disaster a 
new home was sought at West Haven, Vermont, where 
the boy, who had a .strong desire to be a printer, tiied to 
enter the village newspaper office as an ap|>rentice, but 
was rejected as too young. For three years he worked 
as a da)' laborer, and then, with his father's con.scnt, was 
apprenticed in the office of the Xortlnrii Spectator, at 
l^ast I'oultney, Vermont. 

He soon became a good workman, developed a taste 
for political statistics, and gradually became largely 
depended ujjon for the editing of the ])ai)er, while he 
made a figure in the village debating society. For his 
services he received in money only ^40 a year, most of 
which he sent to his father. When he was twenty years 
of age the Northcnt ^/cr/rt/w suspended publication, and 
the boy visited his parents, then on a farm in the wilds 
of Western Pennsylvania. After working for a time on 
the farm and in various printing-offices he started for 
New York, making his way on foot and by canal-boat, 
and reached that city in Augu.st, 1831, with Sio as his 
sole capital. 



Employment was not easily obtained, and his first 
work was on a 32mo New Testament, so difficult from 
its minute t)-pe that other printers refused it. He slowly 
progressed, and in Januarv, 1S33, formed a business 
partnership with I'rancis V. Story, a fellow-printer. 
With a combined capital of Si 50 and a font of t}-pe 
obtained on credit the\' began the printing of the first 
cheap paper published in New York, the price being 
fixed at two cents. It failed in three weeks. The 
partners continued to work, however, and James G. 
Bennett asked Greeley to join him in starting The Herald. 
This Greelc\- declined, but soon after started The Nci.c 
Yorker, which jiroved a losing venture, though it gained 
a circulation of nearly ten thousand copies. It was 
kept alive for seven j-ears, and gave Greelc)', who was 
its sole eilitor, much reputation as a writer. He en- 
gaged also in etlitorial work on other papers, and 
during the Harrison campaign for the Presidency, in 
1840, published The Log Cabin, whose circulation rose 
to ninety tliousand. 

On April i, 1841, he announced that on the following 
.Saturday he would begin the publication of a daily news- 
paper of the same general principles as the Log Cabin, 
to be called Tlie Tribune. He was without money for 
this venture, and borrowed $1000, on which and his 
reputation as an able editor Tlte Tribune was founded. 
The paper proved wiile-awake and aggressive, and rapiiily 
increased in circulation, reaching eleven thousand in the 
seventh week. From this time forward Greeley was 
identified with this newspaper, and its history is his. It 
gradually grew prosperous, and for many years paid him 
an income of over SiS.OOO annually, and often as much 
as j?35,ooo or more. Yet he lacked business thrift, and 
frecpienth- fouiul himself in straits for money, so that he 
gradually parteil with ni-.irly all his interest in the paper. 
The Weekly Triluiiie, which he started in 1S51, became 
highly prosperous, and attained a very large circulation, 
proving an exceedingly profitable enterprise. 

Greeley's political affiliations were at first with the 
Whig, and afterwards w ith the Republican, party. 1 le 
served on several Rejiublican conventions, but in 1867 
injured his staniling with the party greatly by going on 
the bail-bond of Jefferson Davis. Being dis.satisficd with 
President Grant's administration, he sharpl}' criticised its 
acts, ami in eonset[uence, in 1S7J, received a noiniii.ition 
for the Presiilency from the Democrats, his life-long op- 
ponents. The residt was a defeat, anil this, and his 
labors during the cam[)aign, seem to have toKl on his 
healtli, which rapidly declined, he dying on the 29th of 
November, 1872. Despite the ridicule and contumely to 
which he was occasionally exposed, no man was more 
respected or admired for moral uprightness than Horace 
Grce!e\'. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



55 



MARSHALL O. ROBERTS. 

Mak.shall Owen Roberts was boin in the city of 
New York, March 22, 18 14, his father being a Welsh 
pliysician, wlio had settled in that cit\- in 1798. The 
boy received a good preliminary education, and would 
have gone through college and been trained for the 
medical profession had the father's wishes prevailed. 
Hut the son's inclinations were towards a mercantile life, 
aiul he left school while still young and became clerk 
in a grocery store in Coenties Slip, which he soon left 
to take a position in a ship-chandler's establishment. 
H\- the time he had reached his majority he had saved 
money enough to begin business for himself, and went 
into trade with an energy and ability that brought him 
success from the start. In two years' time he was in a 
position to make a contract with the United States gov- 
ernment to supply the navy with whale oil, a \enture 
which netted him a handsome profit. 

I le was one of the first to recognize the advantage of 
finely equipped river steamers on the Hudson, and built 
the " Hendrick Hudson" for this purpose, then the largest 
steamer on that stream. In 1 84 1, President Harrison 
appointed him United States naval agent of New York, 
and during the Mexican War he e.xecutcd an important 
contract with the government, in which he laid the 
foundation of his large fortune. 

Turning his attention to the rapid development of the 
railroad interests of the country, he became an early 
ad\ocate and took an active interest in the building of 
the Erie Railroad, of which he became a prominent 
director. He next projected the Delaware, Lackawanna 
and Western Railroad, in which he became deeply inter- 
ested. When the California fever of 1849 broke out, 
Mr. Roberts became actively concerned in the develop- 
ment of the Aspinwall line of steamers between New 
York and San Francisco, via the Isthmus of Panama, 
and made a contract with the government to convey the 
United States mails to California by this line. He was 
one of the first capitalists to whom Cyrus W. Field 
applied with his project of an Atlantic telegraph cable, 
and lent substantial aid to the furtherance of this im- 
j)ortant enterprise. 

When war threatened the countr_\-, anil the belligerent 
citizens of Charleston made threats of attacking Fort 
Sumter, Mr. Roberts contracted with the government 
to endeavor to provision that important post, and sent 
one of his steamers, the " Star of the West," to Charleston 
harbor for that purpose. Its errand, however, was dis- 
covered by the belligerents, and it was forced to retire, 
after ha\ing been fired upon seventeen times. The flag 
borne by the " .Star of the West" on this occasion e\-er 
after floated over Mr. Roberts's house. In the spring of 




1 861, when Fortress Monroe was threatened by the 
Confederate forces, he raised a force of one thousand 
men at his own e.xpense, and sent them in his steamer 
" America" to reinforce the garrison. Throughout the 
war his stanch Union sentiment, thus signally displayed, 
was manifested in other useful forms. 

He was a particular friend of President Lincoln, 
and after his assassination forwarded $10,000 to his 
widow. 

His railroad enterprise ne.xt led him to embark in 
Southern interests, he becoming the controlling spirit 
in the Tehuantepec Canal and Railroad Company, and 
an active promoter of the Texas Pacific Railroad, in 
which he invested nearly $2,000,000. He also became 
largely interested in other railroad enterprises, both in 
the United States and in Canada. 

In 1852 he was nominated for Congress on the Whig 
ticket, but was defeated. On the formation of the Re- 
publican part}- he was quick to join it, and was one 
of the delegates to the first Republican national con- 
vention, held at Philadelphia in 1856, in which he 
took part here in the nomination of John C. Fremont 
for the Presidency. In 1865 he was nominated for 
mayor of New York by the Union party, but was again 
defeated. 

For j'ears Mr. Roberts was a liberal patron of the fine 
arts, and collected a gallerj- of paintings estimated to 
be worth $750,000, which was always freely opened to 
the public. He was three times married, Miss Endicott, 
who became his second wife, being the founder of the 
Young Woman's Christian Association, and the Home 
for Girls, of New York. To the latter he gave about 
$50,000. He died at Saratoga Sp^ngs, September 11, 
1880. 



S6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GENERAL MARSHALL LEFFERTS. 

Marshall LErFicurs, lont; known as the coliuul ^-^i 
the famous Seventh Re<jinieiit and for his connection with 
tlic development of teie<jrapii\', was born Januar\- 15, 
1 82 1, on Long Lslami, a few miles from Brookhn, at that 
time an unimportant villai^e. \'arious branches of his 
ancestral familj- had settled in that reL;ion lony before the 
Revolution, and in one of their suburban houses the sub- 
ject of our sketch was born. 

He was educated at the county school, and at the age 
of fifteen became a clerk in a hardware store, a situation 
which he was obliged to leave on account of delicate 
health. He then entered the service of Mr. Stodard, 
chief engineer in the survey of Brooklyn, a position 
which at once gave him health and led him to the study 
of civil engineering, a study which he continueil through 
life. Persistent a])[)lication and natural ajititude ciuickly 
acKanced him to the |)osition of assistant engineer, anti he 
continued upon the sin\ey for three years, his service in 
this field being commemorateil by the gi\ing of his name 
" Marshall," to one of the streets laid out in the new civic 
district. He was also connected with the survey of Green- 
wood Cemetery, Brooklyn's beautiful " city of the dead." 

On leaving the field of engineering, Mr. Lefferts re- 
turned to mercantile life, entering as clerk one of the 
oldest importing houses of the city, that of Morewood 
& Co. In less than three years he was admitted to 
partnershij) in this firm, and became manager of its .iffairs 
in America, — it having branches in I.oiujon and I,i\er- 
]jool and in China. He remained thus engaged until 
1852, when, seeing opportunities for more rapiil business 
progress in other directions, he withdrew from the firm 
and engaged in iron production, and also in the manu- 
facture of galvanized iron. The latter was a compara- 
tively new and small industry, but was perfected and 



brought into large use by his agency. He remained 
successfully engaged in it for several years. 

In 1 849, however, a new channel for his energies opened 
in the introduction of the chemical telegraph, an inven- 
tion brought that year to this country 1)\' .Alexander 
T^ain. the distinguished electrician. In association with a 
number of capitalists Mr. Lefferts constructed telegra])h 
lines between New York and Boston and New York and 
Buffalo, and showed such skill and energy in the organi- 
zation and direction of the business that, in 1850, the 
stockholders and the Associated Press of New York 
showed their appreciation i>\- [)resenting him a splendid 
.service of silver. This is liie only instance in which the 
Press has taken such action. 

These lines were finally consolidated with the " Morse 
lines," and Mr. Lefferts withdrew from telegra])!))- till 
i860, when he took an active interest in the automatic 
system of transmission. On the purchase of the patents 
by the " American Telegra[)h Company" he entered its 
service as electric engineer, and proceeded so actively in 
organizing the line that when, in 1866, it was consolidated 
with the " Western Union Telegraph Company," it was 
the most com])lete and thoroughly organizeil telegraph 
system in the world. He was the first to employ w (imen 
in the telegraphic service, to api)l\- instruments for the tle- 
tection of electric faults, and to introiluce various other 
innovations. 

For some time he acted as engineer of the Western 
Union Company, but soon resigned to conduct its com- 
mercial news department, and in 1869 became presitlent 
of the Gold and Stock Telegrai)h Company, which posi- 
tion he held until his ileatli. In 1S71, this conipau)' 
purchasetl the coinniercial news department of the 
Western Union, of which he resumed control. 

His militar\- career began in 185 i, as a private in the 
Seventh Regiment of New York City. In a \-ear he was 
elected its lieutenant-colonel. Under his command the 
regiment attained its high renown. In iSfii it was the 
first regiment to leave the city for the .seat of war. 
During the war its services were several times tendered 
the government. It was stationed at Frederick, Mary- 
land, in 1862, and again in 1863, its colonel (with the title 
of general) being military governor of that district. It 
was recalled to New \'ork during the tlr.ift riots in th.il 
city. After the war General Lefferts resigned his com- 
mission, but was induced to retain it until Jiuie, 1866, 
\vhen his resignation was acce])led. lie was then chosen 
C(jmmandanl of the Wteian Corps of the regiment, at 
the head of which, on July 4, 1876, he lo(.)k the cars for 
l'hiladel[)hia, U) take part in the great military procession 
to be held that day. He was unwell on starting, and 
before the train reached Newark he died. Thus suddenly 
ended a career distinguished alike in civil and military 
affairs. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



57 



MORRIS PHILLIPS. 

MuKKis Phillips, editor and proprietor of the New 
York Home Jotinia/, is a self-made man, whose success 
in journalism is due to his own indomitable industry, 
enterprise, and energy. He was born Maj' 9, 1834, his 
father, a highly res[jected merchant of New York, dying 
when his son was but fi\'e years old, so that the future 
editor had to consider the necessity of earning his own 
living at an early period in life. He received a good 
education, however, and was well equipped for a mercan- 
tile life ; but his tastes led him strongly in another direc- 
tion, and he entered the law firm of Brown, Hall & 
Vanderpoel, with the purpose of preparing himself for 
the bar. A. Oakey Hall was a member of this firm, 
and the acquaintance then began between him and the 
youthful student has continued uninterruptedly, they re- 
maining fast friends up to the present day. 

The young law student was enthusiastic in preparation 
lor his chosen profession, but circumstances soon drew 
him away from his books, — an excellent offer having been 
made him to enter a large mercantile house in Cleveland, 
Ohio. He remained thus engaged, however, for only a 
few months, when he returned to the study of law, this 
time in the office of an eminent legal fiiin in Buffalo, 
New York. 

In the year 1854, when he was yet but twenty years 
of age, he had the good fortune to meet the poet George 
P. Morris, at that time, in association with his fellow-poet 
N. P. Willis, editor and proprietor of the Home Journal, 
which had been founded by them in 1846, and had 
become one of the leading literary and social papers of 
the country. General Morris took a decided liking to 
the young man, and offered him the position of private 
secretary, or " right-hand man," as the poet designated 
him. This offer was accepted by the young aspirant for 
journalistic fame, and he began his literar}- career on the 
munificent salarj' of five dollars a week, which was all the 
poet felt disposed to offer his untried assistant. From 
that time, with the exception of a brief interregnum in 
1862, when he owned and edited the old Knickerbocker 
Magazine, Mr. Phillips continued his connection with the 
Home Journal. In 1863, on the death of General Morris, 
he purchased the half interest which the poet had held; 
and on the death of N. P. Willis, in 1867, he became sole 
proprietor of the journal. In the same year he sold a 
quarter of his interest to George Perry, who joined with 
him in the editorship of the paper. Perry subsequently 
died, and Phillips repurcha.sed the interest he had sold and 
became again sole proprietor. 




Concerning his record as a business man and editor, 
we may quote from George Ellington, who wrote this 
about him in 1870: "Morris Phillips commenced his 
newspaper life at the vcr_\^ bottom round of the lad- 
der, and has reacheil his present position by sheer hard 
work, close attention to business, and, more than all, 
by giving the verj' best of the most suitable kind of 
literature antl news for the cultured world for which he 
caters. 

" He made his first appearance in print as correspond- 
ent for the Western press many years ago, and has since 
written considerably for New York, Boston, and other 
periodicals. As a manager and editor he shows skill and 
rare good taste. He may be called the father of society 
news in this country, for he originated and started this 
journalistic feature in 1867, and now scarcely a news- 
paper in the country is without its department of ' society 
news.' " 

In 1865, Mr. Phillips was married to a New York 
lady of great beauty and fine education, who died after 
twelve years of married life, leaving him a family of 
two daughters and a son. The latter, a graduate of 
Columbia College, is now a member of the Home Journal 
staff". Of the Home Journal little need be said. It 
ranks to-day as one of the leading family new.spapers 
of the countrj', — clean, dignified, and interesting, avoid- 
ing scandal, while giving the news of the best society, 
fostering literature and the kindred arts, and in ever\- 
respect maintaining the highest standard of a journal for 
the home. 



5S 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CAPTAIN AUGUSTUS P. COOKK. 

Captain Augustus P. Cooke was burn in Coopers- 
town, New York, February lo, i<S36; appointed to 
the Na\al Academy in 1852, and graduated in 1856. 
During his first sea-service, in tlie Home Squadron, he 
participated in tlie capture of Walker, the filibuster, at 
Greytown, Nicaragua. In 1S59 he received his warrant 
as passed midshipman, and made a cruise on the coast 
of Africa, in the " San Jacinto," assisting in the capture 
of several slavers. He was commissioned lieutenant in 
i860. When the Rebellion occurred, tiie ship, then under 
the command of Captain Wilkes, returned to the United 
States, capturing on the way the rebel commissioners, 
M.ison and Slidcll. 

In January, 1862, as executive-officer of the " Pinola,'' 
captured the blockade-runner " Cora," and then the 
" Pinola" ])rocceded to join Farragut's sipiadron. Lieu- 
tenant Cooke was several times under fire in the " Pinola'' 
while that vessel was assisting in breaking the cliain bar- 
riers which obstructed the Mississippi, and was present at 
the bombardment and passage of Forts Jackson and St. 
Phili|), the destruction of the rebel flotilla, and the capture 
of New Orleans. He was also present at the first bom- 
barilment of Vicksburg ; the passage of the batteries there, 
and the engagement with the rebel ram " Arkansas." 

In August, 1862, he was made lieutenant-commander, 
and ordered to command a vessel in Huchanan's fiotilla, 
to operate, in conjunction with the army, in tlie Ha\'ou 
Techc. In January, 1863, he went up the Tcclie, sup- 
pijrling (ieiieral Weitzcl's brigade, antl assisted in the 
destruction of the enemy's gun-boat "Cotton." Here 
IJeutenant-Commander Buchanan was killed, and the 
command of the flotilla devolved ujjon Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Cooke. 

During the Red River expedition, in 1863, he crossed 



troops over Berwick Bay and transported General Gro- 
ver's division through Grand Lake and landed it at 
Indian Bend, under fire, without accident. Next morn- 
ing, at da\-light, the flotilla under Cooke was attacked by 
the ■' Queen of the West" and another gun-boat armed 
with rifled cannon, and \\ ith sharp-shooters behind cot- 
ton-bales. Cooke ver)- prompth' went to meet them, and 
his shells soon set fire to the cotton-bales of the " CJuccn 
of the West," which was soon in flames, with her people 
leaping overboard to escape death from fire. Her con- 
sort, seeing this, turned, and, having superior .speed and 
lighter draft than Cooke's ves.sels, escaped. The officers 
and ninety men of the " Queen of the West" were 
picked up. About twenty were lost. There were no 
casualties in the flotilla. 

His next operation was the capture of Butte a la Rose, 
on the Atchafalaya, driving off the supporting gun-boat, 
and taking the garrison, with a large quantity of stores 
and ammunition, clearing the Atchafalaya from the Gulf 
to the Red River ; and by this route he proceeded to 
join Admiral Farragut, then at the mouth of Red River. 
General Banks made special acknowledgment to Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Cooke for his success in tliese opera- 
tions. 

His next service was in the Red River with Porter's 
fleet; followed, in the winter of 1S63-64, by blockading 
Matagorda Ba\' antl the coast of Texas. 

In July, 1S64, he was detached from duty in the Gulf 
and ordered to the Na\al Acadeni)-, serving in the prac- 
tice-ships " Marion" and " Savamiah." In May, 1867, he 
was ordered as navigator of the steam-frigate " P"rank- 
lin,"' Captain Pennock, which went to Europe as Admiral 
P'arragut's flag-ship. This was a remarkable and inter- 
esting crui.se, from the attentions shown the admiral in 
every country he \isitetl. especially in Russia and Sweden. 
In October, iS()8, he was detached from the " Franklin" 
anil ordered as executive-officer of the " Ticonderoga, " 
on the same station. Upon his return home he was, in 
1869, appointed heail of the department of ordnance at 
the Naval Academy, and published a text-book on gun- 
nery, long u.sed by the cadets. 

Lieutenant-Commander Cooke was commissioned com- 
mander in 1870. Served at the Torpedo Station and 
in command of torpedo-boat " Intrepid," and afterwards 
the " Alarm." Later he commanded the steamer " Swa- 
tara." He was made captain in 1881, while stationed at 
Mare Island, California, and commaiuled the " Lacka- 
wanna," on tJK- Pacific Station, in 1SS4-S5. He no.\t 
serveil at the na\y-_\aril, Brooklyn, in connnand of the 
" Vermont," and afterwards as captain of the yard. In 
1888 he took command of the " Franklin, " at Norfolk. In 
1890 he was relieved and ordered to New York as presi- 
dent of the Board of Inspection of Merchant Vessels. 
Captain Cooke retired from active service in 1 892. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



59 



FERDINAND P. EARLE. 

General Ferdinand Pinney Eaki-ew-.-is born in Hart- 
ford, Connecticut, in 1S39, and is particular!)- fortLuiate in 
possessing a highly honorable record of ancestr}- on both 
paternal and maternal sides. His father was the lineal 
descendant of Edward E^arle, the youngest member of a 
family who took a \-ery prominent part in the Parha- 
mentary struggles in England ; his brother, Sir Walter 
Karle, being the originator of the Habeas Corpus Act, 
while another brother, Sir Michael Earle, was killed on 
the Welsh marches diiring a night attack. 

Edward Earle came to this country I'ia Ixubadoes, 
and in 1676 purchased the island of Secancus, in New 
Jersey, becoming the ancestor of the Earle family in that 
State. Man\- other men of note in the colonial records 
of this countr\- might be named among General Earle's 
paternal ancestry, several of them being closely identified 
with the early history of New York. Among those it 
will suffice to name General Johannes de la Montagne, 
a Huguenot, who for nineteen years was a member of the 
councils of Governors Keift and Stuyvesant, eight }-ears 
vice director at Fort Orange, and from 1640 to 1645 
chief in military command on ^lanhattan Island. 

On the maternal side General Earle's ancestry is 
ecjually notable, his mother, I-llizabeth Pinney, having 
been the daughter of Judge Benjamin Pinne\', of Elling- 
ton, Connecticut, a veteran of the War of 18 12, and a 
descendant of Humphrey Pinney, one of the first settlers 
of Connecticut, who came from Elngland in the ship 
" Mary and John" in 1630. 

William P. Earle, the father of the subject of our sketch, 
was long prominent in the hotel world, he ha\ing been 
for many years proprietor of the famous Clinton House, 
in Hartford, Connecticut, and at a later date of the 
Lorillard House, in New York, which afterwards became 
known as Earle's Hotel. While still quite j'oung, Fer- 
dinand P. Plarle became engaged with his father in hotel 
management, and in a few years after their remo\al to 
New York became sole proprietor of the Ivarle's Hotel 
propert}-, his father retiring from this enterjjrise to engage 
in other business ventures. Mr. Earle's ambition soon 
led him to desire a wider field, and he became the proprie- 
tor of the magnificent Hotel Normandie, Broadway and 
Thirt)-eighth Street ; and at a later date owner and pro- 
prietor of Normandie-by-the-Sea, Seabright, New Jersej'. 

General Earle's military career began October 3, 1862, 
when he enlisted as a pri\ate in the Se\enth Regiment 
of the National Guard of New York. He was honorablj- 
discharged from this regiment in October, 1S69, and in 
April, 1881, was elected captain of the Second Katteiy, 




an organization which was thereafter known as Earle's 
Battery, and under his command became one of the most 
efficient military organizations in the National Guard. 
On January i, 1889, Governor David B. Hill appointed 
him on his staff to represent the artillerj- branch of the 
State service, with the rank of bricradier-freneral, and 
he was reappointed bj' Governor Flower. 

For a number of years General liarle served as chair- 
man and treasurer of the Citizens' Au.xiliary Committee 
of the Grand Arm}' of the Republic; and in 1884 was 
decorated by the Venezuelan government with the Order 
of the Bust of the Liberator, in recognition of distinguished 
services rendered by him to that government. 

In 1 87 1 he was married to Mrs. Lillie Jones Tuttle 
(Smith), whose ancestral tree includes a number of the 
earliest settlers in New York and its \'icinit_\', and who is 
also a descendant of the Winthrop. Downing, and Quincy 
families of Massachusetts, also the Guions of Staten 
Island. 

For many years General Earle has been prominent in 
church and charitable work, as a vestr\'man in the Epis- 
copal Church and founder of the " Earle Guild" for the 
relief of the needy. He is a member of numerous socie- 
ties, including the Old Guard, the Huguenot Society of 
America, the Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 
Colonial Wars, Society War 181 2, and many others, mili- 
tary, civil, scientific, etc. He resides with his family in 
the old Roger Morris House, at Washington Heights, 
historically known as Washington's Head-quarters during 
the battle of Harlem Heights, September 16, 1776. 

Children — Ferdinand P., Jr., Victor de la Montagne, 
Willie P. S., and Guion L. C. Earle. ^ 



6o 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLES H. KIMBERLY. 

Chakles H. Kimheki.v, prominent in New \'oik com- 
mercial life, was born a native of the Soutlieni States, 
his place of birth being Macon, GeorLjia, wiiere he was 
b(jrn on February 13, 1840. lieing broii^Mit North while 
younj^, he received his education in the military school 
at Danbury, Connecticut, an institution in wliich instruc- 
tion in military tactics was combined with a thorouj^di 
course in the elements of an ordinary luiglish edu- 
cation. Mis period of study in this institution was 
not preliminary to an entrance into arm\' life, for lie 
passed from school to mercantile business, as a clerk 
in the bonded warehouse establishment of Squire & 
Johnson, situated at Nos. 6, 8, and 10 IJridge Street, 
New \'()rk, which city was thenceforth his ]}lace of resi- 
dence. 

Mr. Kimberl)''s business life in this establishment began 
in August, 1862. It was the war era, and one in which 
business of almost every description prospered exceed- 
ingly in the cities of the North. He proved energetic 
and efficient, quickly displaying an excellent business 
ability, and rendered himself so valuable and necessary 
to the firm that in September, 1 866, he was admitted to 



partnership in the business, the name of the firm now 
being changed to E. C. Johnson & Co. 

On the subsequent death of Mr. E. C. Johnson, the 
senior partner in the firm, new changes in its organization 
took place, Mr. Kiniber!}-, who by this time had accumu- 
lated considerable capital, purchasing all other interests 
in the establishment, of which from that time to his death 
he remained sole proprietor. I lis i)urchase included the 
ownership of the stores Nos. 8 and lo ]5ridge Street, and 
at a later date he bought No. 6, so that the w hole concern 
fell into his sole proprietorship. 

By this time, however, the activity of business during 
and for some years after the war had declined, while the 
growing competition in trade interfered materiall)- with 
the trade and profits of the establishment. As a result, 
Mr. Kimberly found himself forced to enter upon a severe 
contest to retain the position in the conmiercial world his 
energj- and abilit)- had ])reviously won. Indnniitable 
perseverance and unllinching devotion to business became 
necessary, but those qualities, fortunately for his success, 
Mr. Kimberly possessed in a high degree, and during the 
years that followed his assumption of sole proprietorship 
it was only b\- a xigortnis and intense attention to busi- 
ness that he was enabled to retain the position he iiad 
won and to holil for the Kimberly stores their high 
standing in the commercial arena. 

All his business life, indectl, had been a periuel of 
intense strain. He was a hard and earnest worker, in- 
cessant in his devotion to business, active and inilefati- 
gable, qualities which brought him ra[)id success in the 
hard battle of business life, and to which alone he owed 
his high mercantile position, Init which told severely on 
his health and strength. In short, his health gave way 
under the strain to w hicli he had so long been subjected, 
and he sank into a prolonged illness, which ended in 
death on March 26, 1S92. 

Mr. Kimberl)' was much interested in man)' of the 
municipal social relations of New York, and particularly 
in P'reemasonry. He was long a Mason, and took the 
greatest interest in everj-thing relating to Masonic affairs, 
and in the principle of fraternitj- which underlies all the 
operations of this time-honored societj*. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



6i 



MAJOR DAVID B. DOUGLASS. 

David Bates Douglass, civil and mining engineer, was 
born at Pompton, New Jersey, March 21, 1790. He 
graduated at Yale College, and on October i, 181 3, was 
appointed second lieutenant in the Engineer corps of the 
army, and placed on duty at West Point as commander 
of the sappers and miners. Somewhat later he was made 
commander of the post. In 18 14 he commanded his 
company of sappers and miners on the northern frontier, 
where he took part in the battle of Niagara and the siege 
of Fort Erie. This was followed by the memorable sortie 
from that work, in which the lines of the enemy were 
broken and they were forced to retire. For " distin- 
guished and meritorious service" on this occasion Mr. 
Douglass was promoted first lieutenant and given the 
brevet rank of captain. After the war he returned to 
West Point, where during fifteen years he was engaged 
in various duties, being successively professor of Natural 
and Experimental Philosoph}-, of Mathematics, and of 
Engineering. 

In 183 1 he resigned from the arm\- to engage in the 
duties of a civil engineer. During his army service he 
had been employed on important inspections, surveys, and 
estimates for canals and other works of internal improve- 
ment, had acted as astronomer on the survey to determine 
the United States boundary from Niagara to Detroit, and 
had served as engineer of tlie board of commissioners of 
internal improvements of Pennsylvania. On his retire- 
ment from army service he accepted the position of chief 
engineer of the Morris Canal Company, which had pre- 
viously been offered him. He had become greatly inter- 
ested in the question of the introduction of inclined 
planes instead of locks on canals, and his resignation 
from the army was for the purpose of devoting his time 
to e.xperiments in this direction. He constructed such a 
plane on the Morris Canal, which proved a success. At 
a trial made of the new device, a boat containing two 
hundred persons passed in six and a half minutes a 
plane one thousand and forty feet long with a descent 
of seventy feet. The canal was successfully completed 
in 1832. 

During the same year he was appointed professor of 
Natural Philosoph)' and Civil Engineering in the Univer- 
sitj- of the City of New York. This position he relin- 
quished in 1833, though his name continued on the college 
roll until 1840. In 1833 he surveyed the Brooklyn and 
Jamaica Railroad, and from 1833 to 1835 served as one 
of the engineers of the Croton Aqueduct, during which 
period he made surveys, plans, and estimates in connec- 
tion with the important project of suppl)-ing the city of 
New York with fresh water from the Croton River. 
This dut)- fell upon him solely, from the fact that his 




associate engineer was full)- engaged in other labors. His 
report showed so clearly the practicability of the pro- 
jected works that the necessary legislation authorizing 
them was procured in Ma\', 1834, and Major Douglass 
was appointed chief engineer of the proposed aqueduct. 
In this post of duty he prepared the plans and laid out 
the line of the aqueduct, continuing thus engaged until 
October, 1836, when a difference of opinion between him 
and the commissioners caused his removal. But while 
dispensing with his services they availed themselves of 
his work, his reports and surveys being adopted and 
followed in the construction of the aqueduct. 

From 1837 to 1840 Major Douglass ser\ed as chief 
engineer of Greenwood Cemetery, selecting the locality 
and la)-ing out the plans for this " city of the dead" with 
an engineering abilitj- aiul artistic skill which are amply 
indicated in the cemetery as it now exists. He was en- 
gaged in other duties in New York and its vicinity during 
the same period, and in 1840 resigned the superintendence 
of the cemetery work to become president of Kenyon 
College, Ohio. 

He remained here till 1844, when he returned to New 
York, where until 1848 he was engaged as chief engineer 
in planning and laj-ing out the Albany and Quebec ceme- 
teries, and in important engineering work at Brooklyn, 
such as pro\iding a supporting wall for Brooklyn Heights, 
supph-ing the cit)- with water, developing the landscape 
features of Staten Island, etc. In 1848 he became pro- 
fessor of Mathematics at Geneva College, where he 
remained until his death, which took place October 9, 
1849. At his request his body was interred in Greenwood 
Cemetery, a fitting place of sepulchre in view of his long 
connection with that most beautiful «bode of those who 
have passed the gates of death. 



62 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




THURLOW WEED. 

Thl'RLOW Weed, a leading journalist and politician of 
New York City, was born at Acra, Greene Count)', New 
York, November 15, 1797. His education was of the 
sparest, and hardsliip marked the story of his early life, 
he being destitute of the youthful advantages which 
have given so many leading men a fair start on the 
journey of life. When only ten years of age he was 
on dut)- as cabin-boy on the Hudson, and was put to 
learn the printer's trade when at the age of twelve. A 
printing-office, however, is a good school of practical 
education, and the boy undoubtedly gained there much 
of the knowledge and experience which stood him in 
good stead in later life. He moved from one office to 
another, and at the outbreak of the War of 18 12 did 
duty as a soldier on the frontier, though still only a boy 
of fifteen. 

His twentieth year of age found the young printer 
engaged in journalistic duties, as editor of the Ai^ricul- 
lurist, a newspaper publisheil at Norwich, New York. 
From this time forward he was always connected with 
some newspaper, usually in an editorial capacity. In 
1826 he was elected to the New York Legislature, and 
during the succeeding years became an active member 
of the Anti-Masonic party, and took part in the e.xcited 
agitation of the period, stirred up by the Morgan murder, 
instigated, as the public widely believed, by the Masonic 
fraternity. A newspaper, the Anti-Masonic Inquirer, was 
started at Rochester as the organ of the party. Weed 
becoming its editor, and by his earnest advocacy of the 



party tenets helping to re-elect Dc Witt Clinton to the 
New York governorship. 

In 1830 he was again elected to the Legislature, and 
now became editor of the Albany Evening Journal. In 
his hands this paper became an able organ of the Whig 
party and a stalwart opponent of the Albanj- Regency, 
a coalition which at that time ruled the State politics. 
It also ojjposed the administration of President Jackson 
and his second candidac)' for the Presidenc)'. 

During the succeeding thirt}'-two years Mr. Weed 
remained connected with this paper, and at its head be- 
came a vigorous power in New York politics, in which 
he took a most active part. He was a master of the 
art of handling voters and managing conventions, and 
the acknowledged leader in the councils of his party. 
He is said to have once turned a State election by the 
dexterous use of a moderate sum of money. Yet, 
though ready to aid his political friends in this manner, 
personally Thurlow Weed bore the reputation of being 
disinterested and incorruptible. He was loyal to his 
party and to the countrj-, but as regarded his own for- 
tunes was so indifferent that his friends were obliged to 
look after his financial affairs. This they did, however, 
with much success. 

I\Ir. Weed was an intimate associate with and adherent 
of William H. Seward, and with him and Horace Greeley 
formed a State triumvirate. During Seward's period 
as governor (1839-43) \\'eed was looked upon as the 
"power behind the throne." He was also acti\e in 
national affairs, and used his political influence in the 
campaigns for the Presidency of Harrison, Taylor, and 
Scott. On the forinati<in of the Republican ])arly he 
joined its ranks, and in iS56aiul again in i860 did his 
utmost to have Seward nominated for President. Fail- 
ing in this, he earnestly supported Fremont and Lincoln. 
In 1 861 Lincoln sent him to Europe on an unacknowl- 
edged mission. During the next \ear he withdrew from 
his long connection with \.\\c Journal. 

Mr. Weetl removed to New York City in 1865, where 
for three )-ears he edited the Connnereial Advertiser. 
In this he favored the policy of President Johnson in 
1866-C7, but in 1868 supported General Grant for the 
Presidency. During the remainder of his life he with- 
drew from active interest in ]iolitical affairs, and in his 
old age his sight almost failed. He died November 22, 
1882. He published "Letters from Europe and the 
West Indies" (1866), and on his death left an " Autobi- 
ography," which was published in 1883, and was reissued 
in 1884 with a " Memoir" by his grandson, T. W. Barnes. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



63 



NATHANIEL P. WILLIS. 

George Willis, a" Puritan of considerable distinction," 
who emigrated to Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 1630, 
was the ancestor of the subject of our sketch, whose 
father, Nathaniel Willis, was a newspaper proprietor in 
Boston. Nathaniel Parker, the eldest son, was born in 
Portland, Maine, January- 20, icSo6, and received his early 
education at the Boston Latin School and Andover 
Academy, after which, in 1S23, he entered Yale College. 
He was not specially distinguished as a student, but strong 
literarj' tastes developed during his college life, and in 
1827, immediately after his graduation from Yale, he pub- 
lished a volume of " Poetical Sketches," which attracted 
attention, although unfavorably received by the critics. 
The author followed up this first effort by two other 
volumes in the same vein, " Fugitive Poetry" (1829) and 
" Poems" (1831). He also was a frequent contributor to 
newspapers and periodicals. 

He began his editorial work in 1827, on The Le- 
gendary and Tlie Token, published by S. C. Goodrich 
(Peter Parle\-), and in 1828 began the publication of the 
Amerieein Monthly Jlagacine, which was continued for 
two years, but proved unsuccessful. On its discontinu- 
ance he went to Europe, where he acted as foreign editor 
and correspondent of the New York Mirror, to which he 
contributed a series of letters, afterwards published under 
the title of " Pencillings by the Way." Their vivid 
sketches of scenes and life incidents in the Old World 
gained them instant popularit}-, though the author was 
censured by critics for reporting conversations heard 
as a guest at private gatherings. His style had its affec- 
tations and fopperies, but these were accompanied by a 
grace, ease, and artistic finish which won general recog- 
nition. 

This work was followed bj' " Slingsb}- Papers," con- 
taining descriptions of life and adventures in America, 
and republished in 1836 as "Inklings of Adventure," a 
work which proved as successful in England as " Pencil- 
lings by the Way" had in America. He also published 
while in England " Melanie, and other Poems," with a 
preface by Barry Cornwall. 

On his return to America he settled on a small estate 
on Owego Creek, bringing thither his wife, Mary Stace, 
daughter of General Stace, of Woolwich, England, after 
whom the estate \\as named Glenmary. He resided here 
Ironi 1837 to 1842, writing " Letters from under a 
Bridge," the most charming of all his works. Anotlier 




work, written during a short visit to England, was entitled 
" Two Ways of Dying for a Husband." 

On his return to New York he associated himself with 
George P. Morris, a brother poet, in the establishment of 
a newspaper entitled the Evening Mirror. His wife dying, 
he again visited England, and returning to America in the 
spring of 1846, he again married, and established a literary 
periodical called the National Press, afterwards named 
the Home Journal, in which also he was associated with 
George P. Morris. During this and the subsequent 
period his pen continued actively engaged, there succes- 
sively appearing " Dashes at Life" (1845), "Prose and 
Poetical Works," a collected edition (1846), "Rural 
Letters" (1849), and " Life Here and There" (1850). 

In 1850 he settled at Idlewild, and spent the remainder 
of his life chiefl}- in retirement in that retreat, his health 
beginning to fail. Here he produced from time to time a 
number of volumes, among which were " Hurrygraphs" 
(1851), "Out-Doors at Idlewild" (1854), " Rag-Bag" 
(1855), " Paul Fane," a novel, (1856), and " The Convales- 
cent," published after his death, in 1859. He died January 
20, 1867, and was buried in Mount .Vuburn Cemetery, 
Boston. 

During his life Willis occupied a high position among 
American authors, but one which has proved far from 
permanent. Few people read his prose works to-day, 
and his only productions which seem likely to hold their 
place in literature are some of his poems, particularly 
those on Biblical subjects. 



.64 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




BRIGAUIER-GHNERAI. JUHN COCHRANE. 

Brigadiek-Genekal John Cochrane was born at 
Palatine, Montgomery County, New York, August 27, 
1813. His father was Walter L. Cochran; grandfather, 
John Cochran, surgeon-general and director of the Mili- 
tary Hospitals of the Army of the Revolution ; mother, 
Cornelia \V. Smith, daughter of Judge Peter Smith, of 
Peterboro', Madison County, N. Y., and only sister of Ger- 
rit Smith, of the same place; grandmother on the pater- 
nal side, Gertrude Schuyler, only sister of Major-Gcneral 
Philii) Scluij'ler, of Revolutionary fame; grandfather on 
the maternal side. Judge Peter Smith, abo\e named ; 
grandmother on the maternal side, Elizabeth Livingston, 
oldest daughter of Colonel James Livingston, of the Ami)- 
of the Revolution, who, by his timely shot, drove the 
British sloop-of-war "Vulture" from her mooring in the 
North River, thus securing the capture of Andre, effect- 
ing the discomfiture of Arnold's treason, and assuring the 
safety of West Pf)int, the key of the Revolution. 

In 1827 General Cochrane entered Hamilton College, 
Clinton, Oneida County, State of New York; in 1831 
was graduated; in 1834 admitted to the practice of law 
in the State of New York. 1846, removed to New York 
City, where he has since continued to reside. 1853, 
United Stiites Surveyor of the port of New York during 
four years. 1 857-61 , representative in Congress from the 
city of New York — two terms. 1 860, a member of the 
Board of Visitors to West P(jint. 1858, ileputed b)- Com- 
mon Council of the city of New York to deliver the re- 
mains of James Monroe, Fourth President of the United 
States, to his native State, Virginia. 1864, nominated for 
Vice-President of the United States, with (icneral John 
C. Fremont, candidate for President, i S61 , June 1 1 , com- 
missioned to recruit and command a regiment to serve 
during the war. 1861, August 27, regiment embarked 



from New York City for Washington. 1861, November 
2, commissioned by President Abraham Lincoln colonel 
of the First United States Chasseurs, with rank from June 
II, 1861, and 1862, July 19, brigadier of U. S. Volun- 
teers, with rank from the 17th of July, 1862. 1863, 
February 25, resigned because of severe and serious 
physical disability ; resignation accepted by the Presi- 
dent. Battles, — Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Antictam, 
Willianisport, anil I'^redericksburg. 1863—65, attorney- 
general of the State of New York. 1872, Ma)- i, 2, 3, 
at the national con\ention in Cincinnati <if the Liberal 
Republican party, was chicfl\' instrumental in the nom- 
ination of Horace Greeley for President of the United 
States. 1872, president of the Common Council of the 
city of New York, and acting mayor of the city tempo- 
rarily. i86g, tendered by the President, U. S. Grant, the 
mission to Uruguay and Paraguay united ; declined. 
1857, member of the Society of the Cincinnati, and now 
vice-president of the Society in the State of New \'ork ; 
member of the Chamber of Commerce of New York, 
resigned; member of St. Nicholas Society of New York, 
resigned ; sachem of Tammanj- Hall ; member of the 
Historical Society of New York, resigned ; member of 
the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and president 
one year of the commandery of the State of New York ; 
member of the Grand .\rniy of the Republic, of the 
Society of the Army of the Potomac, and Sons of the 
Revolution. 1870, appointed b\' the Secretar\- of the 
Treasur\- unticr Presiticnl U. .S. Grant a collector of in- 
ternal revenue for one of the revenue tlistricts of the citj- 
of New York; declined. 1889, appointed police justice 
of the city of New York for ten years ; resigned after 
duty one year. 1861, November 13, historic speech be- 
fore his regiment in camp near Washington, in the pres- 
ence of and with the approbation of Simon Cameron, 
Secretary of War, first insisting upon the arming of the 
slaves. The contemporarj' press announced it as the 
" ke)'-note of the war." Orders in regiments of the rebel 
arm\- were given afterwards not to take Colonel Coch- 
rane i)risoner, but to shoot him in battle. April 6, 1863, 
came this despatch to the New York Tribune : "General 
Thomas (U. S. adjutant-general) appearetl at Helena, 
Arkansas, and enlisteil slaves ami formeil them into bat- 
talions under the proclamation of the President, Januarj- 
I. 1863." 

While attorney-general of New York, General Coch- 
rane discovered that throughout the whole colonial period 
of the seventeenth century the waters now known as the 
Kills and Raritan V>\\y were knnwn and accepted as part 
of Hudson River. This discover)- of a most impoitant 
historical fact was made know n by a paper read by the 
general before the New \'ork Historical Society in 1863. 

In 1894, General Cochrane was elected president of the 
New York branch of the Societ\' of the Cincinnati. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



6S 



GENERAL DANIEL E. SICKLES. 

Daniel Edgar Sickles was boni in the city of New 
York in 1823, and was educated in the University of New 
York, which he left to learn the printer's trade. He 
devoted himself to this business for a number of years, 
but e\-entually entered upon the stuily of law, and was 
admitted to practice in the courts of his native city in 
the year 1844. Soon afterwards he engaged actively in 
politics as a member of the Democratic party, and in 
1847 was elected to the New York Legislature, where he 
quickly became a leader in the councils of his party. 
From that time forward his political progress was rapid. 
In 1853 he accompanied James Buchanan to London as 
secretary of legation, and on his return in 1855 was 
elected to the State Senate. In the following year he 
was sent to Congress to represent a district in New 
York City, and remained there for two terms. 

During his period of service in Congress, Mr. Sickles 
became a prominent object of public interest through a 
tragic incident in which he was the principal. He dis- 
covered, in 1859, a guilty connection between his wife 
and P. B. Key, United States attorney for the District of 
Columbia, and taking the law into his own hands, he 
shot Mr. Key dead on the street in Washington, Febru- 
ary 27, 1859. There followed a trial for murder which 
enlisted the attention of the whole American public. It 
continued for twenty days and ended in an acquittal, a 
verdict which met wide-spread approbation from that 
great body of citizens who beliexe in the sanctit)- of 
family life. 

The legislati\e career of Mr. Sickles ended with the 
outbreak of the civil war. Inspircci by patriotic fer\or, 
he immediately began the work of enlistment, and suc- 
ceeded in raising in New York City the Excelsior Bri- 
gade, composed of fi\e regiments, of one of which he 
was commissioned colonel. In September he was raised 
to the rank of brigadier-general of volunteers, and took 
an active part with his brigade, in the division of General 
Hooker, throughout the campaign before Riclimond. 
He particularl)' distinguished himself for courage and 
ability at the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and 
Mal\-ern Hill. In the Mar_\-land campaign, which suc- 
ceeded the witlulrawal of the army from before Rich- 
mond, General Sickles's brigade formed part of McClel- 
lan's army, and was conspicuous for its services at the 
hard-fought battle of Antietam. In the later campaign 
of that year he was given command of the division, suc- 
ceeding General Hooker, who had been raised to a higher 
command. In this position he took an active part in the 
severe and disastrous battle of Fredericksburg, in which 
he distinguished himself for courage. 

On the reorganization of the Arm\' of the Potomac, in 
1863, General Sickles was commissioned major-general 
and given the command of the Third Corps of the arm}-, 




at whose head he played a prominent part in the battle 
of Chancellorsville. The defeat of the Union army in 
this engagement was followed, as is well known, by Lee's 
invasion of Pennsylvania and the rapid march of tiie 
Army of the Potomac to the defense of that Northern 
State. General Sickles's command formed an essential 
part of the line of defense at Gettysburg, being stationed 
between Cemetery Hill and Little Round Top. Here it 
fought with desperate valor for the retention of its posi- 
tion, but was forced to yield to the onset of superior 
numbers. In the desperate struggle for the position its 
daring leader lost a leg, and was borne disabled from the 
field. This disaster, however, did not end his militar\- 
career. He left the hospital to rejoin the army, and con- 
tinued in service till the close of the war in 1865. 

After the war, General Sickles was sent by the go\ern- 
ment on a mission to Colombia. In 1866, on his return, 
he joined the regular army as colonel, and in the next 
year was brevetted brigadier-general for his gallant con- 
duct at Fredericksburg, and major-general for his similar 
meritorious action at Gettysburg. During this perioil of 
service with the regular arm\- he was in command of the 
military department of the Carolinas, and was so \'igorous 
in the work of reconstruction that President Johnson, 
in 1867, relieved him from command. In April, i86g, 
he was placed on the retired list of the United States 
army with the full rank of major-general. 

In May, 1869, General Sickles was appointed minister 
to Spain. In 1873 he resigned and returned to his native 
city, where he became president of the State board of 
civil commissioners, and of the board for the erection of 
New York monuments at Gettysburg. In 1892 he was 
elected a member of the Fifty-thi«i Congress, — making 
his third term, — serving with distinction, and taking rank 
with the foremost men in public life. 



66 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HHNRY BKRGH. 

Henry Bergh, the founclcr of the fust society or- 
ganized in America for the prevention of cruelty to 
animals, was a native of the city of New York, where he 
was born in 1823. He was of German descent, the 
fainil)- ha\ing come to America about 1740, where the\' 
settled near Staatsburtj, on the Hudson. Christian Hcr^h, 
the fatiier of the philanthropist, was a ship-huiidcr by 
occupation, constructing, besides numerous merchant 
vessels, some ships of war for the government. Henry 
was educated at Columbia College, and after graduating 
turned his attention to literary pursuits, producing several 
talcs, sketches, and dramatic pieces. He afterwards en- 
tered upon an extensive series of travels, spending in all 
twelve )'ears abroad, during which he visited nianj' jjarts 
of Europe and travelled widely through Asia. In 1862 
he was appointed secretary of the American legation at 
St. Petersburg, but found the climate too severe for his 
constitution, and was compelled to resign. 

It was while in this position that Mr. Hergh's attention 
was first actively directed to the subject of the great 
and unnecessary cruelty to which animals are freciuently 
subjected, from what lie saw of the barbarous treatment 
of hcl[)less creatures by the peasantry of Russia. The 
cruelties observed there wrought so strongly upon his 
benevolent instincts that lie determined to devote the 
remainder of his life to the ])rotection of chnnb animals. 
A society such as he afterwards founded in America 
existed at that time in luigland, and on his return he 
became acciuaintetl in London with the Ivarl of Har- 
rowby, president of this institution (The Royal Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), w ho gave him 
full information concerning the workings of that Society, 
and encouraged him in his purpose of starting a similar 
institution in the United States. 



In 1864, Mr. Bergh landed in New York, where he 
spent a year in maturing his plans, and then openly began 
to work. The proposition which he made was so novel 
to the people of this country that at first it met with 
little encouragement. But on P'cbruary 8, 1866, he de- 
livered a lecture in Clinton Hall on the unnecessary 
cruelties to which animals are subjected c\en in civilized 
lands, and succeeded in awakening so much s\-nipa- 
thetic feeling, and calling forth so many offers of 
assistance, that he was quickly enabled to organize a 
society for the purpose intended. The press had spread 
widely the report of the lecture, and aroused a wide- 
spread favorable sentiment, and on April 10, 1866, 
the State Legislature passed an act to incorporate the 
American Societj- for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani- 
mals. 

A meeting was held and a permanent organization 
effected on April 22, 1866, Henry Bergh being chosen 
president of the Society. The purpose of the associa- 
tion was to enforce all laws passed for the protection of 
animals, and to secure the arrest and punishment of all 
persons found violating such laws. At that time, how- 
ever, only one such law existed, which had been passed, 
at the instance of Mr. Bergh, on April ig, just before 
the organization of the Society. This made it a misde- 
meanor for any [jerson. b)' act or neglect, to maliciously 
kill, injure, or cruelU' beat any animal, whether belong- 
ing to himself or another person. This act was amended 
and made more stringent on April 12, 1S67. Other 
amendments have since been added until cruelty to ani- 
mals, in its every phase, is very thoroughly prohibited. 
Branches of the Society have since been organized in 
nearly all the States and Territories. 

At first Mr. ]?ergh attended personall}' to the prosecu- 
tion of cases in the courts, the State and the count\- alike 
appointing him a special attorney for that purpose. He 
constantlj- advocated the cause of animals b\- public 
addresses and a]i[)eals to prominent men and ]iul)lic 
bodies, and succeeded in ha\ing many reforms atloi)ted 
in the methods of transporting animals and preparing 
them for food, while through his efforts has grown up a 
wide-felt sympathy with the lower animals which pre- 
viously had little existence. 

In 1875 he became the parent of another admirable 
reform. An appeal was made to him in the case of the 
cruel treatment of a child b)- its parents, in which none 
of the existing societies could be induced to interfere. 
Through his taking active stejis to redress this wrong, 
similar complaints came to him from manj- i[uarters, and 
he felt impelled to call a meeting of citizens, from whose 
deliberations originated the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Children, one which has become as widely 
successful as its predecessor. Mr. Bergh died in New 
York, March 12, 1888. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



67 



WILLIAM G. DA VIES. 

William Gilbert Davies was born in the city of 
New York, March 21, 1842. He is descended from a 
Welsh family, some members of which settled at Kington, 
Herefordshire, England, whence John Davies, the an- 
cestor in this country, moved to Litchfield, Connecticut, 
in 1735. He was a devoted member of the Church of 
England, and was largely instrumental in founding St. 
Michael's Church in that town, which contains a tablet to 
his memor}-, and is largely sustained from the proceeds of 
land donated by him. His grandson, Thomas Davies, a 
great-great-uncle of Mr. Davies, graduated at Yale Col- 
lege, studied theology in England, was ordained deacon 
and priest by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the 
chapel in Lambeth Palace in August, 1761, and returned 
to this country as a missionary of the Society for Propa- 
gating the Gospel in Eoreign Parts. He died prema- 
turely in 1766, but his influence upon his family, and 
their ecclesiastical relations, were such that they remained 
loyal to the English government throughout the Revolu- 
tion, and suffered from the obloquy and persecution to 
which Tories were subjected. Mr. Davies's grandfather, 
Thomas John Davies, moved to New York in 1800 and 
settled at Black Lake, in St. Lawrence County, where 
he served for several terms as sheriff and county judge. 
His son, Henry E. Davies, came to New York City 
shortly after his admission to the bar in 1826, where 
he occupied successively the positions of Corporation 
Counsel, justice of the Supreme Court, and Chief Judge 
of the Court of Appeals. He married Rebecca Waldo 
Tappan, a descendant of Abraham Toppan, — as the name 
was then spelled,— who came from England to New- 
bur\'port, Massachusetts, in 1630. On his mother's side, 
Mr. Da\ies traces his ancestry back to Anneke Jans, to 
John Hull, master of the Mint and treasurer of the 
Colony of Massachusetts Bay, who coined the famous 
pine-tree shillings, and to Chief Justice Samuel Sewall, 
who married the treasurer's daughter Hannah. It is a 
family tradition that her dowry consisted of her own 
weight in the coins from her father's mint. 

Notwithstanding the fact that his ancestors of his own 
name were Tories during the Revolutionary War, two of 
Mr. Davies's great-grandfathers, John Foote and Ben- 
jamin Tappan, bore arms on the popular and successful 
side. 

Mr. Davies graduated at Trinity College, Hartford, 
Connecticut, in i860, and then went abroad to pursue 
his studies in the University of Leipsic, Germany. On 
his return he entered the law office of Messrs. Slosson, 
Hutchins & Piatt. He was admitted to the bar in 
May, 1863, and. after a partnership of a few years' dura- 
tion with Henry H. Anderson, entered the service of 
one of the large insurance companies, where he was for 
many years office counsel, a position which he has 




recently resigned in order to resume the actix'e practice 
of his profession. He is a member of the State and 
City Bar Associations, of the Lawyers' Club, and of the 
Law Institute, and a Special Lecturer on the Law of 
Life Insurance in the Law School of the University of 
the City of New York. 

He is, like his ancestors, a member of the Anglican 
Church, and was for nearly twenty years one of the 
vestry of Christ Church, of which he published an 
historical sketch in the Magazine of Aiiicricaii History 
some years ago. When that church moved to Sevent)-- 
first Street, the distance from his residence compelled 
him to sever his relations with it, and he thereupon con- 
nected himself with the parish of St. Bartholomew. He 
has always been interested in historical studies, and is 
an active member of the New York anil Virginia His- 
torical Societies, of the New York Biographical and 
Genealogical Society, and a corresponding member of 
the New England Historic-Genealogical Societ}-. He 
is also a member of the Union, University, Century, 
Tuxedo, Grolier, Liederkranz, and St. Nicholas Clubs, 
of the Sons of the Revolution, the Society of Colonial 
Wars, and the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association. 
He is proud of the fact that his service with the Twenty- 
second Regiment, N.G., S.N.Y., during the Gettysburg 
campaign of 1863, entitles him to wear the bronze 
button of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

Mr. Davies married on December 15, 1870, Lucie 
Rice, daughter of the Hon. Alexander H. Rice, of 
Boston, Massachusetts, one of the most distinguished 
citizens of his State, having been mayor of Boston, 
representative in Congress for several terms, and for 
three terms governor of Massachusetts, a position 
which he occupied during the Centennial celebrations in 
1876. 



68 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




S. C. BECKWITH. 

AnvERTisiNG iiia\' be saitl to be almost as much a 
nineteenth century invention as tlie raihoad or the tele- 
graph. It is at once an art and a business, — an art in 
which has developed a Jiiicssc and tact that would ha\e 
made the crude advertisers of past years stare in wonder; 
a business that has grown to vast proportions within 
recent decades, and is still rapidly expanding. And 
prominent among the advertisers of the day is the gentle- 
man a sketch of whose career is herewith given, and who 
to-day stands at the head of the " special" advertising 
agents of New York, and hence of the country at 
large. 

S. C. Ueckwitii was born in the .State of Marj-land 
forty years ago, — in the j^ear 1854. He was educated 
at Washington College, Chestcrtown, Maryland, from 
which he graduated with honor, and at once began the 
study of the law, having decided to adopt this as his 
profession. He was first aroused to the fact that his 
native ability lay in another direction through the applica- 
tion for editorial aid from him by the publisher of a local 
newspaper, who, recognizing his aptitude, induced him 
to abandon the law in favor of journalism. Mr. Beckwith 
was not long in the service of this paper before he dis- 
covered the true bent of his faculties, and, with a com- 
mendable ambition, sought a wider field for their display 
than that afforded by the local sheet of a coiuitr)' town. 
Making his way to Haitimore, he obtained a position on 
the staff of the Evfiiitii^ IhilUtin, then under the manage- 
ment of Mr. \V. M. Laffan, now the busine.ss manager 
of the New York Sun. Here the young journalist re- 
ceived a valuable training in newspaper work, and grad- 
ually perceived the special direction in which his powers 
led and the field of labor in which success was most 
likely to come. 



In 1879 he took the most important step of his life, 
leaving Baltimore for New York, where he established 
himself as the business representative of the Kansas City 
Times. This was the foundation of the special agency 
which he has since immensely extended, his present 
advertising connections including, in aildition to the 
Tillies, to which he still faithfullj- adheres, such well- 
known newspapers as the Philadelphia Item, the St. 
Louis Post-Dispateh, the Denver Republican, the Port- 
land Oregonian, and many others. The list includes, 
in fact, the largest and best special list of Dailies and 
Weeklies ever representeil h\ one man exclusively in 
New York City, with a total daily output of over si.x 
hundred and fift)- thousand copies, or, counting one issue 
each of Dail)-, Sunday, and Weekly, a combined circu- 
lation of one million six hundred and si.xty thousand. 
His connection with which brings a large quantity of 
important business into his finely-equipped offices in the 
Tribune Building, of New York, and in the " Rooker\-," 
of Chicago. 

Mr. Beckwith has not won his pronouncetl success in 
this field of business opportunitv without the exercise of 
those active qualities to which alone success is due. To 
the possession of a native adaptation to the work he 
ackls an encrgv, entlnisiasni, and capacit)- for unremitting 
labor which cannot fail to carry well-directed ability to 
fortune. In his )-outliful da\-s he was far from vigorous. 
When he began his active business life his health was 
still delicate, and his physical powers scarcely suitiible to 
carry out the demands of his mental energy. But, by 
a carefully regulated life and an earnest attention to 
moderation in habits, he has built up his health step by 
step with his business, and is to-tlay a physicalK- cajiable 
man of forty, and one able to endure an amount of close 
and unwearying application uniier which niatiy iiaturalK- 
stronger men would sink. There is with him no lapse 
of attention to business on hot summer afternoons, or 
long vacations on yacht-board or at the sea-shore. His 
attention to business is unremitting, and his success such 
that his past customers all cling faithfully to him, and 
new ones annually join the host. If business demands, 
he does not hesitate to start on ten minutes' notice for a 
flj-ing trip across the continent. Nothing can stop him 
if an order is in sight. His scent for business is keen 
and instinctive, and he is off like a cjclone whenever 
occasion demands. 

Personall)-, Mr. Beckwith is of a sunny, s\ inpatlutic, 
and persuasive temperament, wilii nun ii of the magnetic 
in his pleasant manner. He alwaj-s takes a ro.sy view of 
j life. His apartments in the Tribune Building are palatial 
in adornment and a study in the art of decoration. He 
has expended upon them \shat many men would deem a 
snug fortune, while his ])ri\ate office is a most alluring 
I place for those who drop in to talk over business. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



69 



LOUIS WINDMUELLER. 

Louis Windmuellek, a prominent merchant and 
reformer of New York, is a native of Westphalia, in 
which country he received a collegiate education in a 
college at Miinster which had the honor of being founded 
by Charlemagne. He emigrated from his native country 
to the United States in 1853, landing in New York, which 
city has since remained his place of residence. Here he 
entered into the mercantile business with much success, 
while outside of his immediate business relations he 
became in time widely known for his connection with 
[)rominent financial institutions, his active labors in the 
interests of reform and charity, and his connection with 
man)' of the municipal and social institutions of the 
metropolis. 

The financial institutions with which he has been asso- 
ciated, and which he took part in founding, are the Title 
Guarantee and Trust Company, the German-American In- 
surance Compan\', the Hide and Leather National Bank, 
and the Bond and Mortgage Guarantee Company. With 
some of these companies he is still associated as director. 

The Reform Club, of New York, is in part due to Mr. 
W'indmueller, who was active among its founders, and 
who has served as its treasurer since 1887, while the 
comfortable home which the club now occupies it largely 
owes to its treasurer's earnest interest in its affairs. He is 
also a member of the German-American Reform Union, 
and, as one of its Executive Committee, took an active 
part in aiding the election of William L. Strong as reform 
ma}'or of the city of New York. As a reformer he has 
been indefatigable in the advocacy of a sound currency 
and tariff, and civil service reform, his efforts in these 
directions having been from time to time made known 
to the public through the press. 

Mr. Windmueller's interest in public affairs is also 
shown in his membership and active work in several 
other associations for municipal and State impro\ement. 
Among these may be named the Chamber of Commerce 
Committee on Internal Trade and Improvements, of 
which he is chairman ; and the Executive Committee 
for the Improvement of the State Canals, as a member 
of which he agitated successfully for the amendment to 
the constitution which authorizes the Legislature to 
make the necessary appropriations. He is, in addition, 
auditor of the Business Men's Relief Committee, and an 
earnest member in a number of charitable institutions, to 
whose work he lends efficient aid. Among these is the 
German Legal Aid Society, which furnishes gratuitous 
advice on points of law to the needy without regard to 
their nationality. In this useful institution he is a mem- 
ber of the board of directors. 




Among the earnest and eftectiv^e efforts in behalf of 
charity which have been made by Mr. Windmueller must 
particularly be mentioned his valuable services for the 
benefit of the German Hospital Fair in 1888. For this 
he arranged a collection of paintings, which proved so 
potent an attraction that over $100,000 were cleared for 
this important charitable institution. 

Outside his connection with bodies devoted to reform 
and chanty, Mr. Windmueller is a member of many other 
New York organizations, including the Merchants', Ger- 
man, Lotos, Insurance, Athletic, and various other clubs, 
and the New York Historical Society, of which he is a 
life member. As regards specially German interests, it 
ma}' be stated that he is treasurer of a fund for the erec- 
tion of a monument to Goethe and vice-president of the 
Heine Monument Society. 

The various subjects in which he is interested have 
called forth ably-written articles from his pen, contributed 
to the Foriiin, Harper s Weekly, and other periodicals 
whose pages are open to the liberal discussions of public 
affairs. During his period of residence in New York he 
has made frequent visits to Europe, where he is well 
known, particular!)' in German)-, his native land. 

Mr. Windmueller was married in 1859, and has since 
lived a happ)' famil)' life. He has three children, and 
possesses a beautiful home near the village of Woodside, 
Long Island. He ranks among the founders of St. 
Paul's Episcopal Church in this village, and is a member 
of its vestry. He takes a warm and intelligent interest 
in art and literature, and his home near Woodside is 
adorned with a fine collection of modern paintings and 
a valuable library of books, in which the subjects of art 
and general literature are particularly represented. 



7° 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




DE WITT CLINTON. 

At Little Britain, New York, on Marcli 2, 1769, was 
born the future projector of the Erie Canal, the most 
notable and useful artificial water-way in this country. 
His father was General James Clinton, of the Continental 
army. His education began in an academy at Kingston, 
and was completed, after the war, at Columbia College, 
from which he graduated in 1786, the first graduate 
under the new name of the college. It had formerlj' 
been called King's College. After graduating he studied 
law, and was admitted to the bar in New York Cit\- in 
1788. 

At that period the (juestion of the adoption of the 
Constitution was uiuler hot debate. It was opposed by 
Clinton in some published letters which he signed " A 
Countryman." He became .soon after private secretary 
to his uncle. Governor George Clinton, and held this 
position till 1795, when Governor Clinton's term of service 
ended. In 1797 he was elected a member of the State 
Assembly, and in the following year of the State Senate. 
Politically he was strongly in opposition to the measures 
of President Adams's administration, particularly its hos- 
tility to France, but when war seemed imminent he rai.sed 
and equipped a company of artillery. He also found 
himself in opposition to Governor Jay in regard to the 
matter of appointing the governor's council, and suc- 
ceeded in having an amendment added to the consti- 
tution securing his object, though at the cost of bitter 
political hostility to himself 

As a member of the Legislature, he sought to improve 
the laws of the State, introduce sanitary regulations, 
foster the arts and sciences, promote agriculture, and aid 
the efforts to apply steam to navigation. He was enthu- 
siastic in favor of these objects, and gained the reputation 
of one who had the public good earnestly at heart. In 



1 80 1 he was elected to the Senate of the United States, 
in which he maintained the high reputation which he had 
secured in his native State. He resigned two years later 
to accept the office of mayor of New York, to which he 
was appointed by Governor Clinton and a Republican 
council. During the succeeding twelve \-cars he was 
twice removed from and twice reappointed to this office, 
then held to be one of the most important in the 
country. During part of this time he served also as State 
senator and as lieutenant-governor of the State from 181 1 
to 181 3. In 1812 he was made a candidate for the 
Presidency, in opposition to Madison, and received eighty- 
nine electoral votes to one hundred and twenty-eight for 
Madison. He was now the most prominent Republican 
in the State, but was so fiercely attacked !))• the Federal- 
ists, and was so moderate in his views, as to lose favor 
with both parties. 

From an early period Clinton had been a warm advo- 
cate of a project to connect Lake Erie by a canal with 
the tide-water of the Hudson, and in 1 8 10 acted as one 
of the commissioners who explored the route of the pro- 
posed canal through the w ilderness. In 1 8 1 2 he requested 
goxernmcnt aid for this enterprise, but the war with Great 
Britain prevented, and nothing was done till 1815, when 
Clinton, losing his position of ma)-or, entered actively 
upon the work of advocating the Erie Canal. He pre- 
pared a memorial and argument in favor of its immediate 
construction, roused the peojile to a warm sentiment in 
its favor, and brought it to the attention of the Legis- 
lature, his activity in this direction making him so 
popular that, when Governor Tompkins resigned his 
office to become Vice-President of the United States, 
Clinton was elected governor b\- both parties, and re- 
elected in 1 8 19, though Mr. Tompkins was now again a 
candidate. 

On July 4, 1817, he broke the ground for the great 
work he had .so strenuously advocated. In 1820 he wrote 
a series of newspaper sketches of travel along the propo.sed 
route of the canal, which were published in book form in 
1822, as " Letters on the Natural History and Internal 
Resources of the State of New York." In consequence 
of some changes in the constitution, Clinton declined to 
be again a candidate for governor, and in 1824 his 
political opponents even removed him from the un- 
salaried position of canal commissioner. Indignant 
at this, the peo[)le again triumphantly elected him gov- 
ernor, and he had the proud honor of presiding over 
the com])letion of his great work, and being borne 
trium])hantly on a barge from the waters of Lake Erie 
to the harbor of New York, October 26, 1825. He did 
not long survive this period of triumjjhant realization, 
dying suddenly at Albany, February 11, 1828. His 
monument remains in the continued utilitj' of the great 
Erie Canal. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



71 



SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. 

Samuel Finlev Bkef.se Morse, notable at once for his 
artistic and his inventive abilit}-, was born at Charles- 
town, Massachusetts, April 27, 1791. His father was the 
Re\-. Jcdediah Morse, author of the first geographical 
works published in America. The son entered Yale 
College at fourteen years of age, where he received the 
first impulse towards those electrical studies which he 
afterwards prosecuted so ardentl}-. He gratluated in 
1810, and, his tastes turning towards art, became a pupil 
of Washington Allston, then the greatest of American 
artists. In 181 1 he accompanied his master to P2ngland, 
where he remained four years engaged in the study of 
painting under Benjamin West. 

The young artist manifested fine abilit\-, and gained 
considerable success; but after his return to America he 
failed to obtain orders for historical paintings, to which 
his taste inclined him, and engaged in the painting of 
portraits. In this field of art he worked in several cities, 
finally settling in New York, where, in 1825, he laid the 
foundations of the National Acadeni)- of Design, and was 
elected to its presidency, a position which he retained for 
the succeeding twent\' years. 

In 1829 he returned to Europe, where he spent several 
years in the study of the old masters, making his way 
back to America in October, 1832. During this voyage 
the question of electro-magnetism arose in a conversa- 
tion among the passengers, and Morse remarked, " If the 
presence of electricity can be made visible in an\- part 
of the circuit, I see no reason why intelligence ma\' not 
be transmitted b}- electricit\-." 

The proposition was not a new one, but it roused new 
ideas in his mind. During the remainder of the voyage 
he occupied himself in thinking out how such intelligence 
could best be transmitted, and before New York was 
reached had worked out in his mind the details of the 
future " Morse alphabet," and completed a rough draft 
of the necessary apparatus, which he exhibited to his 
fellow-passengers. 

The twelve years that followed were years of painful 
labor and discouraging disappointments. He was too 
eager in the pursuit of his new idea to give much atten- 
tion to art, and his artistic ambition was further discour- 
aged b\- the refusal of the go\ernment to give him the 
commission to paint one of the historical pictures in the 
rotunda of the Capitol. He kept persistently engaged 
on his new idea until 1836, laboring in poverty, and 
meeting numerous delays and disheartening disappoint- 
ments. In 1836 he first completed a workable appa- 
ratus, and not until September, 1837, was he able to 
exhibit his invention. This was done at his room at the 
University Building, New York, where he sent the cur- 
rent through seventeen hundred feet of wire, and trans- 
mitted information with the most encoura<rine success. 




Soon afterwards an application for a patent was made, 
and Congress was petitioned to grant an appropriation 
for the purpose of building a telegraph line of sufficient 
length to demonstrate its value. 

Congress adjourned without making the appropriation. 
Morse had, meanwhile, sailed to England for the purpose 
of taking out patents and pushing his invention there. 
His trip was unsuccessful. A patent was refused him 
in England on the ground that his invention was not 
novel, — Wheatstone having invented his telegraphic sys- 
tem in 1837. On his return to New York, Morse renewed 
his ajjplication to Congress, but it was not until 1843 
that the long-delayed appropriation was granted. This 
was for $30,000, to enable him to construct a telegraph 
line between Baltimore and Washington. Now the diffi- 
culties of the practical application began. The wire was 
at first laid underground and proved a failure, and the 
appropriation was nearly exhausted before the device of 
carrying it through the air was adopted. It was first 
successfully used on the 24th of May, 1844. 

The success was so striking, and the value of the 
invention so assured, that companies for the construction 
of telegraph lines were soon organized in all parts of the 
country. In 1847 Morse was compelled to \indicate his 
claim to the invention in the courts, and from that time 
on tiie honor and emoluments which had been so long 
deferred were poured in upon him. He received gold 
medals and other marks of honor from European nations, 
and in 1858 the representatives of several European 
powers presented him the sum of 400,000 francs in 
recompense for their use of his instruments. He took 
an active part in the laying of the first Atlantic cable, in 
1857, and died in New York, April », 1872. His system 
of telegraphy is now used on nearly all the telegraph 
lines of the world. 



72 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLES KING. 

Charles Kim; (LL.D.) was born in New York City_ 
March i6, 1789. lie was tlic second son and child of 
Hon. Rufus and Mary .\lsop King. In 1799, during 
the residence of his fatlicr in London as United States 
minister to the court of St. James, Charles and his older 
brother, John Alsop, were sent to Harrow School, where 
they met and were intimate with, as boys, those who 
were afterwards known to the world as men of talent, 
among others Lord Byron and Sir Robert Peel. In 
1803 the "King brotliers" (as they were always known) 
were sent from Marrow to Paris to stud)' mathematics 
and French. There these two American youths dis- 
tinguished themselves in their studies, taking with ease 
tile higiiest prizes. 

Charles being destined for a mercantile life, was sent 
from Paris to Amsterdam under the care of the Messrs. 
Hope. He remained tlierc until the year 1810, when he 
returned to New York and was taken into the house of 
Archibald Gracic & Sons, and soon after married Eliza, 
Mr. Gracie's eldest daughter. Upon the breaking out 
of hostilities with Great Britain, Mr. King, a Federalist, 
hastened to give to the government his support, both in 
the Legislature of New York, to which he was electeil 
in 1813, and as a volunteer. He was made colonel of a 
regiment in 1814, anti was stationed on Long Island, at 
Brooklyn. The failure of Archibald Gracie & Sons in 
1823 enabled Mr. King to embrace journalism, and with 
Mr. Johnston Vcrplanck he became associated in the 
publication of the New York American, a conservative 
newspaper of much political influence and high literary 
character. On the retirement of Mr. Wri^lanck Mr. 
King became sole editor, and remained in charge of the 
paper until its publication was discontinued. His bravery 
of character and mind was often used to befriend those 



whom he thought needed help. In the great fire in New 
York City in 1836 the flames spread with great rapidity, 
and the intense cold covered the firemen and their ap- 
paratus with ice. Mr. King realized the tlanger, went 
himself to the Brooklyn Navy-Yard and, obtaining 
barrels of gunpowder, with his own hands placed the 
powder and blew up the houses next the spreading flames, 
and thus stayed the destruction. He remained at the 
fire all day and the following niglit, and on returning to 
his home a hatchet had to be used to release him from 
his armor of ice. In 1845, Mr. King became one of the 
editors of the Courier and Enquirer, writing fearlessly, 
and expressing himself most earnestly upon all subjects. 
He was elected in 1849 ])residcnt of Columbia College. 
He heartil)' entered into all the duties of his new office, 
advancing the interests of the college in every way by 
his brilliant scholarship, his energy, and wise manage- 
ment ; increasing both the wealth and usefulness of that 
institution. During his presidency, Mr. King remained 
no silent spectator of the various questions which were 
agitating the countr)-, resulting in the civil war. He took 
an earnest part in sustaining the principles which lu: had 
inherited and which his convictions had made his own, 
and threw himself warmly into the discussions which 
arose, and, as far as compatible w ith his duties as presi- 
dent, into active work to aid in pushing the fight against 
slavery. The presentation of the national and regimental 
flags to the first colored troops sent out to the seat of 
war by New York City was his thought and act. This 
presentation took place in Union Square, New York City, 
in the presence of a vast concourse of people, with the 
full regiment drawn up in line before him. I lis cleai", 
ringing, and heart-stirring words on that occasion caused 
him to be cheered to the echo. 

His wife dying after a lingering illness, Mr. King some 
years later was married to Miss Henrietta Low, of New 
York City. 

In 1S64, Mr. King resigned the presidency of Columbia 
College, and with his family sailed the following year for 
Europe to join his son. General Rufus King, then United 
States minister to Rome. After traveling throughout 
Europe this useful life ended at Frascati, Italy, on Sep- 
tember 27, 1867. 

Mr. King was busy ami fluent with his jjcn, writing 
several most able reports, addresses, and articles. He 
wrote the history of the New York Chamber of Com- 
merce, of which he was at one time president ; also a 
report on the construction, cost, and capacity of the 
Croton Aqueduct, and many addresses before the 
Mechanics' and Historical Societies. He was a man 
who feared naught but wrong, was earnest, high- 
minded, and impulsive, firm in his convictions and 
fearless in expressing them, but just and courteous in 
his bearing. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



73 



RUFUS KING. 

RuFUS King (son of Charles Kini;-, LL.D., and Eliza 
Gracie, his wife) was born at No. 3 Pearl Street, New 
York City, January 26, 18 14. His bo\'hood was spent 
in New York, and his early education intrusted to an old 
French soldier-scholar (M. Peugnet) who emigrated to 
America after Waterloo. At the age of fifteen King 
entered the Military Academy at West Point, and was 
graduated when onl\- nineteen and commissioned in the 
Corps of Engineers, United States army, standing number 
four in a large and brilliant class, prominent in which 
were John G. Barnard and George W. Cullum. King's 
first duty was in the construction of Fortress Monroe, 
where he was associated with Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, 
of the Engineers, but he was soon transferred to duty in 
connection with the improvement of the navigation of the 
Hudson River, his office being in Albany. In September, 
1836, he resigned from the army to become assistant 
engineer of the New York and Erie Railwa\', then being 
surveyed, and held this position until 1839, when, the new 
enterprise becoming crippled in its finances, he returned 
to Albany and accepted the adjutant-generalship of the 
State, tendered him by Governor William H. Seward, who 
was just entering upon his first term. This office, despite 
his youth. General King discharged with marked credit 
f >r the four j-ears of Seward's incumbency. Meantime 
the inherent editorial stuff in him had attracted the atten- 
tion of both Mr. Seward and his stanch friend Thurlow 
Weed, and King became, under Weed's tutelage, associate 
etlitor of the Albany Evening Journal, making his home 
in that city, and becoming captain of the famous Bur- 
gesses Corps. In 1836, King was married to Ellen, 
daughter of Robert Elliot, Esq., of Albany, but she died 
within the year. Eight years later he was married to 
Susan Eliot, a }-ounger sister of his first wife, and in the 
autumn of 1845 he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
where he became editor and proprietor of the Milwaukee 
Sentinel and took a prominent and active part in building 
up the infant city, which became the metropolis of \\'is- 
consin. He served on the State constitutional conven- 
tion, was for years member of the board of regents of 
the State University, superintendent of public schools, 
Milwaukee, and the leading officer of the State militia. 
It was his paper that led the movement which resulted 




in the formation of the Republican party in the Northwest. 
In March, 1861, King was appointed by President Lincoln 
minister resident at Rome, Ital\-, and was about to 
embark with his family for his new post when Fort 
Sumter fell. He at once sought service in the field, was 
appointed brigadier-general of volunteers in May, 1861, 
organized anil conmiandeil the brigade of Wisconsin anil 
Indiana troops that won in the Arm\- of the Potomac the 
name of" the Iron Brigade of the West ;" was promoted 
to the command of a di\-ision in McDowell's corps, but 
after Second Bull Run was prostrated by illness, from 
which he never fully recovered. In February, 1863, he 
was commanding the defenses of Yorktown, Virginia, 
and later commanded a division in the defenses of Wash- 
ington, but in the fall of that year he resigned his military 
commission on account of continued ill health and re- 
paired to Rome, where he remained on duty as mini.ster 
of the United States until the abolition of the mission by 
Congress in 1867. 

Returning to New York, he spent there the last nine 
years of his life, surrounded bj' friends and relatives, suc- 
cumbing to an attack of pneumonia October 13, 1876. 
He was buried in the old church-yard at Jamaica, Long 
Island. General King was survived by his wife, son, and 
daughter. 



74 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




SMITH HLY. 

Smith Klv was born on April 17, 1825, at the resi- 
dence of his maternal jrrandfathcr, Ambrose Kitchell, at 
Hanover, Morris County, New Jersey. His ancestry 
were notable in the history of our country. Judge 
Aaron Kitchell, his maternal great-grandfather, was a 
soldier in the Revolutionar>' War, and at a later date 
.served as United States Representative and Senator, and 
Presidential elector-at-large. His father, h-paphras C. 
Ely. leather merchant in New York City, served as a 
soldier in the War of 1S12 ; his grandfather, Moses Ely, 
was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and his two 
more remote paternal ancestors, William VAy and Richard 
Ely, were cajHains in the colonial army during the old 
I'Vench and Indian War. Hy virtue of this military ser- 
vice of his ancestors, Mr. El)' is a member of the Society 1 omj- and judicious administration of the ilutics conmiitted 
of the War of 1812, of the Sons of the Revolution, and j to his charge. In each of the years of his term the net 
of the Society of Colonial Wars. ' amount of the cit\- debt was reduced, it being in Januarv, 



Whole, and was thus enabled to do much good and pre- 
vent much e\il in legislation. 

In i860 he was elected to the board of county super- 
visors, one of whose important functions, at that period, 
was to raise money and enlist men to carry on the war. 
He held this office for eight years, and while a member 
of the board became conspicuous by his rigorous oppo- 
sition to its extravagant use of the public funds. In 
1867 he was re-elected, in opposition to the regular 
Democratic and Republican candidates, being supported 
by every daily new.spaper in the city, and in the same 
year was made commissioner of public instruction. In 
1 880 he was nominated as one of the Presidential electors 
on the Democratic ticket. 

Mr. Ely's term of Congressional sciA'ice began in 1S70. 
In that )-ear there was a union of the fictions of the 
Democracy of New York, and he was nominated and 
elected to the Forty-second Congress from the seventh 
district. He was placed by Speaker Blaine on the Rail- 
road Committee of the House, and did good service in 
that capacity. In 1874 he was re-elected, and during 
this term served on the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Public Buildings, and the Committee 
on the Expenditures of the Treasur\- Department, — 
being chairman of the last-named committee. 

In 1876, while he was still .serving in Congress, the 
different Democratic elements of New York City united 
in nominating him as a candidate for mayor. Phe Re- 
publicans nominated the distinguished soldier and states- 
man. General John A. Di.x. Mr. Ely was elected by a 
majorit)- of over fifty-five thou.sand. His administration 
of the important office for which he had thus been chosen 
was characterized by the qualities w hiLli he h.ul shown 
throu'diout his official life, those of wise and strict econ- 



Mr. Ely, after the period of his i)relimin.ir)- education, 
adopted the law for his profession, studying for three 
years in the office of I'Vederic De Peystcr, and after- 



1877,5119,811,310; in January, 1878,5117.700,742; and 
in January, 1879, 5113,418,403, there being thus a total 
reduction in two years of nearU- 56,500,000. At the same 



wards graduating at the Law School of the University of time the tax levy, notwithstanding the increase of popu- 
New York. Yet he ne\er practiced the ])rofession, de- iation, was similarly reduced, decreasing from 551,109,521 



voting his middle life instead to mercantile pursuits. 
Politically he has always been a Democrat, anil many 



in Januar\-, 1S77, to 528,008,888 in January, 1879. No 
other ma\'or e\'er succeeded in attaining a similar result. 



years of his life have been si)ent in official ser\ice as a Before the expiration of his term as ma)'or, Mr. Ely was 
representative of that jiarty. In 1856 he was elected offereil by the Democratic party in his old Congressional 
school trustee of the seventeenth ward, and held the office district the nomination for Congress. He declineil the 
for four years. In 1857 lie was elected to the State honor, however, preferring to retire to private life. 
Senate by a large majority, — being the first Democrat [ Since the period named Mr. I'.lv has not held office. 
ever elected in the district. In the Senate he was the He is unmarried, and is a member of the Century, the 
only Democrat on the two most important committees, ; Manhattan, the Drawing-Room, aiul the Presbyterian 
the Committee on Cities and the Sub-Committee of the I Union Clubs. 



makers; of new york. 



75 



GEORGE MACCULLOCH MILLER. 

George Macculloch Miller was born in Morris- 
town, New Jersey, in 1832. His father, Jacob W. Miller, 
was a prominent and able lawyer and represented New 
Jersey as United States Senator from 1S41 to 1S53. His 
mother was Mary Macculloch. His grandfather on his 
mother's side was George P. Macculloch, of Scotch 
parentage, whose father was an English officer and 
killed at Bombay, from where his grandfather was 
brought to Scotland when four years of age, receiving 
his education in Edinburgh, and coming to this country 
in the early part of the present century. At the age of 
eighteen Mr. Miller graduated from Burlington College 
and commenced the study of law in his father's office at 
Morristown, and after a course at the Harvard Law 
School was admitted in 1853 to the bar of New Jersey, 
and later in the same year to that of New York. In the 
early part of 1854 Mr. Miller decided to make New York 
City his permanent home. He at once became successful 
in the practice of his profession, being a man of great 
industry and energy, of unusual commercial sagacity and 
accurate and careful business habits. To these qualities 
his marked success in life must be ascribed. He was 
employed as counsel for many large banking institutions, 
also in many railroad cases, which brought him into 
prominence with large railroad corporations, and they 
were of such a character that in the course of time, 
in 1 87 1, he became president of the Newport and Wick- 
ford Railroad and .Steamship Compan}', and in 1873 a 
director of the New York, Pro\idcnce and Boston Rail- 
road, and was followed by his election, in 1879, to the 
presidency of the Providence and Stonington Steamship 
Company, resigning the same after ten years' service in 
favor of a younger brother. Mr. Miller was also presi- 
dent of the Denver, Utah and Pacific Railroad Company 
for si.K years until 1887. He has since become vice- 
president of the New York, Providence and Bo.ston 
Railroad Company, president of the Housatonic Rail- 
road Company, and a director and one of the executive 
committee of the New York, New Haven and Hartford 
Railroad Compan}-, and has had much to do with the 
consolidation of the first two of these companies with 
the New Haven Company. Mr. Miller is also a director 
in a number of large corporations, and is also a trustee 
of the Central Trust Company, the Bank of Savings in 
Bleecker Street, and of Greenwood Cemetery, etc. He 
is head of the important law firm of Miller, Peckham, 
& Di.xon, which was founded by him, and is recognized 
as one of the oldest and most successful law firms of the 
city. 

Mr. ]\Iiller has responded in aid to many of the re- 
ligious, educational, and benevolent institutions of this 
city, and has been an efficient promoter of the enterprises 
undertaken by the Protestant Episcopal Church, and has 




been for many j-ears a member of the standing com- 
mittee of the Episcopal diocese of New York. His 
name is also closely identified with the Protestant Episco- 
pal Cathedral of St. John the Divine of this city. As 
one of the original trustees of this corporation chartered 
in 1873, and its secretary, he has devoted his energies 
unflaggingly in behalf of buikling this edifice, which is 
one of the grandest religious structures in the world, 
located on Tenth Ax'enue between One Hundred and 
Tenth and One Hundred and Thirteenth Streets. 

Since 1869-1890 Mr. Miller has been trustee and 
secretary of St. Luke's Hospital at Fifth Avenue and 
Fifty-fourth Street, but soon to be transferred to its 
new site immediately adjoining the cathedral. Working 
zealously for its cause, in 1892 he became its honored 
president, and has been annually re-elected and is fer- 
vently devoted to the interests of this noble institution. 
He is also president of the " Hospital Saturday and 
Sunday Association of New York." Also one of the 
wardens of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, in which 
parish he has been a close and active worker. 

Mr. Miller is an ardent Rei)ublican, and has been 
actively engaged for many years in the effort to improve 
the local affairs of New York. He is one of the Com- 
mittee of Seventy, whose mission has been very success- 
ful in advancing the cause of municipal reform. He is 
also noted for his quick business instincts, thoroughness 
in every work he undertakes, quiet, affable, genial in 
manner, and approachable under all circumstances. 

Mr. Miller married, in 1857, Elizabeth Hoffman, a 
daughter of Lindley Murray Hoffman, and has five 
children, Hoffman, Mary Louisa (now Mrs. William 
Bard McVickar), Leverett S., Elitabeth Agnes, and 
Edith Macculloch. The eldest is a partner in his law- 
firm. 



76 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




EDWARD I^AYSON FOWLER, M.D. 

Dk. Fowler, one of the most eminent physicians of 
New York City, was born at Cohocton, Steuben County, 
New York, November 30, 1834, being the youngest son 
of Judge Horace and Mary Fowler. He is descended 
from old Puritan stock, being the sixth lineal descendant 
of William Fowler, who came to Massachusetts in 1630. 
His grandfather, l^liphalet Fowler, entered the Revolu- 
tionary army as a private, and retired with the rank of 
major. His mother was the grandniece of Mary Phillip.se, 
the first love of George Washington, whom her parents 
took to Furope to break off the attentions of the young 
Virginian, then unknown to fame. 

Dr. I'owler entered the New York Medical College 
in 185 I, and graduated in 1 85 5 as first prize man, having 
pa.ssedabrilliantcour.se. He immediately entered into 
partnership with Drs. Gray and Hull, who had then 
perhaps the most e.xtensive and lucrative practice in 
New York City. In consequence, his practice became 
unusually large almo.st from its commencement. In 
addition to the " Old School" .system of medicine, he 
studied Homceopathy, and ])racticed it in connection 
with the former, looking upon the two systems as com- 
ponent parts of a unit. During his forty years f)f ])rac- 
lice he has evinced the possession of skill and ability of 
such high order as to raise him to the highest ranks of 
the profession, his practice being among the best class 
of New Yorkers, including many of the old Knicker- 
bocker families. 

He was always distinctly in opposition to .sectarianism 
in meilicine, declaring that metlicine was a unit, and 



should be dealt with as such. His views in this ilirec- 
tion were recognized by the thinking part of the " Old 
.School," which in 1S78 adopted those rules, for New 
York State, known as the " New Code." Under this 
the only qualification demantlcd for a physician is the 
legally required medical education, and the "Old School" 
became practically the Coiiipir/uiisk'C School. This action 
was not endorsed by the HomcEopathists, and conse- 
quently Dr. Fowler withdrew from his former connec- 
tion and joined the comprehensive school of medicine, 
— not as indicating a change in his views, but a con- 
sistent agreement with his long expressed doctrine of the 
unity of medical practice. 

Dr. Fowler ser\cd in the Ward's Islantl and Hahne- 
mann Hospitals, and in 1887 received the honorary degree 
of Doctor of Medicine from the Board of Regents of the 
State of New York, and the appointment of E.xaminer 
in Anatomy in " the first board of New York State Ex- 
aminers for conferring medical degrees." He was one 
of the founders of the New York Medico-Chirurgical 
Society, and served as its president. He is also a mem- 
ber of the New York Academy of Medicine, the New 
York Neurological Society, the Medical Societ\- of the 
County of New York, and other societies. His attention 
has been dc\'otccl assiduously to his profession, hut he is 
unusually well versed in business affairs. Politically he 
is an ardent Republican, and is a member of the Union 
League Club. 

Dr. Fowler was married in 1873 to Miss M. Louise 
Mumford, now deceased, two children — Edward Mum- 
ford Fowler and Louise Mumford Fowler — surviving. 
In addition to his cit\' home, he has a delightful summer 
residence at Coo[ierstown, New York. Personal 1\- he is 
a man of genial manners and benevolent dis]5osition, 
qualities which have gaineil him the resjiect and esteem 
of all with whom he has come into contact. 

He has passed much time abroad in travel and stud)-, 
has contributed generously to medical literature, and is 
the author of valuable medical works, including " /Eti- 
ology and General History of Scarlet Fever," " Pseudo- 
Typhoid Fever," "Certain Maladies of the Heart," "Ab- 
normalities of the Cerebral Convolutions," etc. He has 
also translated from the French and German such works 
as Charcot's " Localization in Diseases of the Brain," 
Richert's " Physiolog)- and Histology of the Cerebral 
Convolutions," and Benedikt's "Anatomical Stud\- of 
the Brains of Criminals." He has in addition delivered 
many instructive lectures before medical bodies, his dis- 
courses showing deep study of the subjects under dis- 
cussion. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK, 



77 



WILLIAM LAWTON. 

William Lawton, whose name is known from end to 
end of the country in connection with the famous Lawton 
Blackberry, was born at West Point, New York, on May 
I, 1795, his father having been a surgeon in the Revolu- 
tionary ami}-. Dr. Lawton moved in 1796 or 1797 to 
Flushing, where he established a practice. His son was 
educated in the — at that time famous — Pickett's semi- 
nary, situated at the foot of Chambers Street. He left 
school in 1809 and entered a counting-house, and towards 
the close of the \\'ar of 18 12-18 15, when the British 
fleet showed itself off Sandy Hook, he enlisted in the 
New York company of Colonel Sitcher's Third Regi- 
ment of Volunteers, in which he served as sergeant-major 
for seven months, till the end of the war. He left the 
employ of John G. Warren, in whose shipping house he 
had been engaged, to join this regiment. He also acted 
as regimental adjutant, and preserved until his death all 
the orders and documents which came into his hands 
during that warlike period. 

At the end of his term of serx'ice Mr. Lawton found 
his position at Warren's occupied by Mr. Warren's son, 
and, being thus thrown out of employment, determined 
to start in business for himself as a stock and exchange 
broker. He was then but twenty years of age, but with 
excellent references from Mr. Warren as to integrity and 
ability, he obtained the confidence of such houses as 
Leroy, Bayard & Co., the Astors, Robert Lenox, and 
others, and quickly had his hands full of business in 
negotiating for their bills on London at one-fourth per 
cent, and their notes at one-half per cent, commission. 
Before he reached his majority he had opened an account 
with the Bank of New York, and after he was well estab- 
lishctl he projected the formation of the Stock Exchange, 
which he afterwards assisted in founding. Among the 
organizations which he served in the capacity of broker 
was the State Bank of New Brunswick, his letters to and 
from this bank being carried by Cornelius Vanderbilt — 
then running a steamboat between New York and New 
l^runswick — at a postal rate of two shillings each. In 
1 8 17 he married Maria R. Guion, of New Rochelle. 

In 1826, Mr. Lawton, in association with his brother, 
undertook the enterprise of buying all the vacant lots 
on Broadwa)'. About this time he became a large 
creditor of the New York Coal Compan}', and during 
the financial revulsion of 1827-1828 was obliged to take, 
for his own protection, all the stock of this company. 
In 1829, in consequence, he withdrew from the business 
of broker and entered into that of coal operator, going 
to the mining region, where he remained busily engaged 




for se\-en years. Here he laid out a town nametl Port 
Carbon, in which he set up several stores and established 
a newspaper. He bought also si.x hundred acres of land 
si.xteen miles from Lehigh, where he laid out a town 
named Tuscarora, and at a later date purchased twcnt)'- 
six hundred acres of land on the tract on which Middle- 
port now stands. He claimed to have built the first 
railroad in the country for the accommodation of passen- 
gers as well as freight, — the Schuylkill Valley Naviga- 
tion and Railroad Company, — stock in which he retained 
till his death. In 1836 he returned to New York and re- 
sumed his business of stock broker on an enlarged scale. 
During the governmental contest over the Lhiited 
States Bank question Mr. Lawton became interested in 
politics, and for several years was chairman of the 
Tammany Hall Committee. He was also chairman of 
the Finance Committee, and corresponding secretary of 
the fifteenth ward Tammany Association. Through his 
marriage the estate of the Guion family, at New Rochelle, 
eventuall}- fell into his hands, and he resided there during 
the remainder of his life, collecting a large librarj- of 
books, chiefly on antiquarian topics, to which field of 
stud}' he became deeply devoted. Here he also occu- 
pied himself in agricultural recreations, and had the 
fortune to discover a \'ery superior variety of blackberr)-, 
to which he gave his name, and which is still widely 
cultivated. Mr. Lawton made a trip to California to 
celebrate his eightieth birthday, and had the satisfaction 
of seeing acres of the Lawton berry under cultivation in 
that prolific State. The later years of his life were 
passed in retirement, he dying at New Rochelle, April 
27, 1 88 1, at eight\'-six years of age. 



II 



78 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




DAVID VAN NOSTRAND. 

David Van Nostrand was born in the city of New- 
York, December 5, 181 1, the son of a successful mer- 
chant, of Dutch ancestry, but long a resident of New- 
York. The father dying in 1821, Mrs. Van Nostrand 
was left with the care of a family of three sons and li\ e 
daugliters, of whom Da\id was the fifth in age, and one 
who from ciiildhood had been noted for his love of books, 
to which he devoted his leisure hours to such an extent 
as to impair his physical strength during his whole life. 
He was educated at Union Hall, a classical school of 
Jamaica, Long Island, where he made rapid progress. 
At eight years of age he received a prize from the master 
for his proficiency in Greek, and at fifteen was graduated 
with an excellent preparatory education. His mother 
wished to give him a college education, uilii a \ iew to 
his entering the Church, but his desires led in other direc- 
tions, and immcdiatelj- after leaving school he entered 
the book .store of John P. Haven, a line of business to 
wiiich his love of books speciall)' adapted him. His ac- 
tivity and intelligence won him the warm approval of Mr 
Haven, to whom he became so indispensable that, when 
at the age of eighteen his return to study was contem- 
plated, the bookseller offered his useful assistant, rather 
than lose him, a partnership in the business when he 
should become twenty-one years of age. This promise 
was faithfully kept, but the connection lasted only till 
1834, when some changes in the business induced Mr. 
Van Nostrand to withdraw from the lirin. Il< had in 
the mean time married, but lost his wife after eighteen 
months of married life. 

His next business venture was in partnershi]) with Mr. 
William Dwight,a book business being established which 
succumbed to the financial crisis of 1 837, the firm being 
dissolved in consequence of losses. Mr. Van Nostrand 



soon afterwards joined Captain Barnard, of the Engineer 
Corps, — one of his boyhood friends, — who was then at 
New Orleans, where he had charge of the defensive 
works of Louisiana and Texas. The purpose of this 
visit was to act as groomsman at Captain Barnard's 
wedding, but he remained with him as his clerk of 
accounts and disbursements, a duty which he found \-eiy 
pleasant, i)iit liardlx- progressive enough to accord with 
his ambition. In consequence he soon gave it up, re- 
turned to New York, and there began to appb' the expe- 
rience he had gained through his association with military 
men in the importation of books on military subjects for 
officers of the United States army. Here, also, he soon 
began to receive orders from individuals and academic 
institutions for foreign scientific works, and was enabled 
greatly to widen the scope of his business. 

His new location was at the corner of Broadwa\- and 
John Street, where, when his importing trade had become 
well de\-eloped, he added to it publications of his own, 
his establishment becoming a centre for technical litera- 
ture, with which he acquired a familiarity which greatly 
aided his trade. His business grew steadily, particularly 
in the importation and publication of books of pure and 
applied science, in which he gained prominence among 
the noted publishers and booksellers of the workl. He 
also continued a large importer and publisher of works 
on military and naval topics. 

In 1869 the extension of his business required his 
removal to larger quarters at 23 Murray Street, his trade 
in military and scientific books being now the largest in 
the United States. In the same )-ear he began the publi- 
cation of Van Nostraud's E.uginccri)ig Magazine, a pub- 
lication ])rincipa!ly eclectic in character, but open to 
mathenialical discussions and technical articles of interest 
to the engineer. In 1S87, after the death of its jirojector, 
it became the proi)ert\- of Mr. M. N. Forne}-. 

Mr. \'an Nostrand's devotion to business tliil not keep 
him fioni attention to public and social pursuits. He 
was a member of the Historical and the Natural History 
Society, a Fellow- of the Academy of Design, a member 
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and one of the 
originators of the Union League Club. He also belonged 
to the St. Nicholas Society, and was one of the founders 
of the Holland Society and the St. Nicholas Club. The 
Ceiilur)- Club, however, was his favorite resort, he being a 
faithful attendant at its monthly meetings until prevented 
by the advance of ill health. He married again soon 
after his re-establishment in i)Lisiness. As tin)e went on 
his health failed, and during his last nine years he suf- 
fered .severely, but continued his attention to business till 
the last six months of his life. He died June 14, 1886. 
The business which he had established is still continued 
and remains prosperous, under tiie name of D. Van Nos- 
trand Company, at 23 Murray Street. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



79 



GEORGE P. ROWELL. 

It is probabl)' true that diiriiiL;' the past t\vent\'-fi\'e years 
no name has been more familiar to the general reader 
or business man than that of Mr. George P. Rowell, 
whose extended connection with the newspaper world 
and the advertising trade has brought him into very wide 
prominence. He was born at Concord, Vermont, July 
4, 1838, but until the age of seventeen resided in Lan- 
caster, New Hampshire, securing, meantime, the practical 
and valuable education for future life which a boy of am- 
bition could then well obtain in New England upon a 
moderate expenditure of monej', and graduating from the 
Lancaster Academy with the highest honors of his class. 

His first business venture was in a Boston retail store, 
his next in the publication office of a Boston daily news- 
paper, the Post, where his duties appear to have been of 
a congenial character, enabling him to supplement infor- 
mation already gained with a pretty thorough idea of the 
right way to do business and to lay a good foundation 
for his own future and successful active life. It was the 
experience gained during his connection with this journal 
that led him into his future field of business, that of 
general advertising agent and publisher of the newspaper 
statistics of the country. 

Early in 1865, without capital, but thoroughly equipped 
with energy, judgment, and a determination to succeed, 
he established the firm of George P. Rowell & Co., at No. 
23 Congress Street, Boston, for the purpose of engaging 
in the business above mentioned, that of conducting an 
adxertising agency. Before the end of the second year, 
ha\ing been encouragingly successful in his Boston 
venture, Mr. Rowell decided to remove to New York, 
and the change was made with good results. From the 
outset his business prospered, and soon from his house 
was sent out a larger amount of business to the publishers 
of newspapers than emanated from any other in America, 
and his establishment became known as the leading 
advertising agency in the country. 

In 1869, Mr. Rowell issued the first copy of the Ameri- 
can Ncivsfapcr Directory, a publication remarkable for 
its completeness of information concerning the newspaper 
world. It has appeared with regularit\- each }'ear since, 
and is the standard authority upon the newspapers and 
periodicals of the United States in detail, but more 
especially regarding their circulation, — -the most vexed 
question connected with journalism, and the one most im- 
portant in the estimation of advertisers. This book has a 
reputation for honesty and fairness in dealing with statis- 
tics of a kind obtainable only with the greatest difficulty 
and labor that is probably unapproached in any similar 




compilation, and that has given it its well-earned position 
as the leading publication of its kind in this country. 

In 1888, Mr. Rowell commenced the publication of 
Printers Ink, — a journal for advertisers, which at once 
became a great favorite with the ad\ertising public, and 
is now pretty generally known as " The Little School- 
master in the Art of Advertising." Its circulation is 
national, and a branch office has been established in 
London. In 1892, actuated largely by a desire to give 
promotion and position to some of the more deserving 
younger men in his employ, he severed his active con- 
nection with the advertising agency, of which a stock 
company was formed, the stock being purchased largely 
by the present managers ami former emplo\-es of the 
firm. The American Xeivspaper Directory and Printers' 
Ink are still owned by Mr. Rowell, and to these he gives 
much of his time. 

It goes without further remark, from what has already 
been said, that Mr. Rowell is a good business man. 
Socially he has many friends of whom he is fond, and 
to whom he is true. Those who have known him long 
and know- him best are the ones who can ever be relied 
upon as the most faithful, and among these his w'ord 
alone is sufficient for the doing of an act or the under- 
taking of an enterprise, the doing or undertaking of 
which for a majorit\- of men would first require to be 
prefaced by a bond or additional assurance. Mr. Rowell 
is a member of the L'nion League and Grolier Clubs and 
the New England Society, and is president of the Percy 
Summer Club of New Hampshire. At Lancaster in that 
State he has the most delightful farm-house home to be 
found in all New Encrland. 



8o 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ALFRED B. SCOTT. 

One of tlic most genial men to be found in tlic business 
life of New York City is Alfred B. Scott, of the firm of 
Scott & Bowne, ]3roprietors of the well-known medici- 
nal preparation, Scott's ICmulsion of Cod-Li\'er Oil. I\Ir. 
Scott was born in Orange County, New York, Februarj- 
I, 1846. He was the son of a farmer, and his early life 
was like that of most healthy, ambitious, active young 
men who are brought up in the country. After gaining 
such education as the schools in the vicinity of his home 
afforded, and some experience in the active duties of life 
from his labors on the farm, he made his way to New 
York in 1S67, when twenty-one years of age, anil there 
secured a position in a large manufacturing house, in 
which he gained his first ac(|uaintance with the details of 
practical business affairs. I le worked his way up steadily 
to higher positions in the house, which he served effi- 
ciently as a traveling .salesman. 

In 1873 he, in association with his cousin, .Samuel W. 
Bowne, began experimenting with cod-liver oil, with the 
view of rendering this liighly valuable medicine jxilatable 
and easily digestible. As is well known, the plain oil is 
nauseating to the taste, and so difficult of assimilation 
that even when the stomach can retain it the digestive 
organs are severely taxed in dealing with it. Vet it has 
been recognized for years by the medical profession as 
the most nourishing of foods and the possessor of un- 
usual remedial properties, being especially valual)le in 
all cases where there is a wasting away of strength, as in 
consumption and other debilitating diseases. The efforts 
of the two experimenters were to produce an emulsion 
of the oil in which the disadvantages mentioned would be 
overcome, and a palatable and digestible substance, use- 
ful both as food and medicine, replace the crude oil. An 
emulsion of oil, as may be said here, means simpl)- the mix- 



ing of the oil with nther ingredients which are capable 
of breaking it up into tin\- particles suitable for assimila- 
tion, and preventing these particles from again gathering 
into drops or liquid masses. 

It took the experimenters three j-ears to produce this 
effect .satisfactorih", at the end of which time — in 1876 — 
having succeeded in preparing a permanent emulsion, 
they organized the business firm of Scott & Bowne, for 
the purpose of manufacturing what has since been widely 
known as Scott's Emidsion of Cod-Liver Oil. The new 
preparation proved a success from the very outset, though 
not without hard work in demonstrating its utility and 
high standard of merit as a remedial and nutritive article. 
By the year 1880 it had become full\- established among 
the medical profession, and its future was assured. No 
effort was made to conceal its formula or method of 
manufacture, the discoverers being anxious to co-operate 
with physicians, and to take advantage of all suggestions 
that might enable them to improve their emulsion. 

From the start the}- adopted the principle of free adver- 
tising as the most available means of reaching the public, 
and as their capital increased their patronage of news- 
papers siniilarl)- augmented, until b\' 1882 they began ad- 
vertising in journals in all sections of the country. In 1S80 
they established a branch factory in Belleville, Canada, 
and about two years later started one in London. Their 
enterprise in ad\ertising proved so successful in its results, 
that they were enabled to make a rapid extension of their 
business in other quarters, factories being established in 

1884 at Barcelona, Spain, and Oporto, Portugal, and in 

1885 one being opened at Milan, Italy. Branches were 
also established in Mexico, Central and South America, 
and the West Indies, and iii 1 890 a factory was opened 
in Paris. More recentl\- the emulsion has been intro- 
duced into China and japan, and at present it has a 
strong foothokl in ever)- country of the worki w here any 
business is done in the modern sense, except Germanj-, 
Ru.ssia, and Scandinavi.i. Mr. .Scott has jiersonally super- 
intended the advertising during the last ten years, and 
with a success that has made the name of his prepa- 
ration well known in almost every countr}' of the world. 
The firm pos.sess a new twelve-story building on Pearl 
and Rose Streets, New York, which is claimed to be 
the most perfectly equii)ped edifice of its kind in the 
world. 

Personally Mr. .Scott is of the most genial tempera- 
ment, and counts his frienils b\- the hundred, there being 
no more popular man in the clubs to which he belongs, 
or the business workl with which he comes into contact. 
He has a wife and two children, who make their home 
most of the time in Geneva, Switzerland, and Mr. Scott 
has it in view to make that city his future place of resi- 
dence, and to devote himself to handling from there the 
foreiLrn business of the firm. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



JOSEPH PULITZER. 

Joseph Pulitzer, wlio has sii raiiidl)- ad\-anccd into 
the front rank of New York journalism, is a native of 
Hungary, his birthplace being Buda-Pesth, the double 
capital of that kingdom. He was born April lo, 1847, 
and recei\-cd his preliminary education in his native cit)', 
but emigrated to America in early youth. Landing in 
New York, he proceeded thence to St. Louis, where he 
(piickly accpiircd a knowledge of the English language 
and in which city he resided for many j'cars. While 
still \'oung he became strongl)- interested in politics, and 
made himself so prominent that he was elected to the 
Missouri State Legislature in 1869, when but twenty-two 
years of age. In 1872 he was a delegate to the Cincin- 
nati convention that nominated Horace Greeley as Dem- 
ocratic candidate for the Presidency; in 1874 he served 
as a member of the Missouri constitutional convention, 
and in 1880 became a delegate to the Democratic national 
convention, and the Missouri member of its Committee 
on Platform. He was elected to Congress in 1884, but 
resigned after a few months' service, his journalistic 
duties requiring his undivided attention. 

Mr. Pulitzer began his career in journalism at the age 
of twenty, as a reporter on the St. Louis Westliclic Post, 
a German Republican newspaper then under the editor- 
ship of Carl Schurz. At a later date he rose to the posi- 
tion of managing editor and gained a proprietary interest 
in this journal. In 1878 he purchased the St. Louis 
Dispatch, which he combined with the Evciiiiig Post, 
gi\ing to the associated enterprise the title of Post- 
Dispatili. This paper still remains under his control. 

His residence in New York began in 1883, in which 
year he purchased the New York World, a newspaper 
which had been twent}' three years in existence under 
various managers, but without attaining an}- large circu- 
lation. Since that period he has been sole proprietor 
and editorial manager of the World, and has made of it 
an unprecedented success. At the start he announced 
that " There is room in this great city for a journal that 
is not only cheap but bright, not only bright but large, 
not only large but truly Democratic ; dedicated to the 
cause of the people rather than that of p urse- potentates ; 
that will expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evils 
and abuses ; that will serve and battle for the people with 
earnest sincerity." 

This " battle-cry" of the World was borne out in its 
new character, and the people at once began to buy it with 
such a\ idity that its circulation increased with phenom- 
enal rapidity. In 1882 its average daily circulation was 
twenty-two thousand three hundred and thirty one copies. 
On May 29, 1883, in less than three weeks of the new 
management, a gain of thirty-five per cent, was announced. 
On June 15 the circulation had doubled, and by Sep- 
tember, 1884, the paper had reached a circulation of one 




hundred thousand copies. This remarkable growth con- 
tinued until, in 1 890, the daily circulation reached an 
average of three hundred and si.Ktccn thousand six 
hundred and thirty-six copies, while the advertisements 
increased from eighty-six thousand five hundred and 
seventy-seven in 1883 to seven hundred and eighty-two 
thousand seven hundred and ninety-four in 1 890. 

This great development was due to the enterprise dis- 
played in the management of the paper, and its bold 
and uncompromising exposure of frauds, trusts, and plu- 
tocratic schemes of every description. It became, as 
promised, the people's paper, and the people rallied to its 
support. B\- 1889 the old quarters of the World had 
become quite inadequate for its needs, and a new and 
great structure was begun, the present World building at 
the corner of Park Row and Frankfort Street, one of the 
largest and best equipped newspaper buildings in the 
world. The corner-stone of this edifice was laid October 
10, 1889, by Master Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., then foiu" years 
of age, Mr. Pulitzer himself being detained by sickness 
in Germany. It was completed b}' December 10, 1890, 
when its formal opening took place in the presence of a 
notable assemblage of governors, congressmen, and other 
visitors of public pronn'nence. 

We may conclude with an extract from Mr. Pulitzer's 
cablegram on the laying of the corner-stone of the new 
edifice : " God grant that this structure be the enduring 
home of a newspaper forever unsatisfied with merely 
printing news, forever fighting every form of wrong, for- 
ever independent, forever advancing in enlightenment 
and progress, forever wedded to truly Democratic ideas, 
forever aspiring to be a moral force, forever rising to a 
higher plane of perfection as a public#nstitution." These 
words have the true ring in them. They could be well 
emulated in deeds by the whole newspaper world. 



82 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ALLEN THORNDIKH RICE. 

Allkn Tmorndike Rice, well known fi)r his intelli- 
<jcnt editorship of the North Atncrican Rcvici<.', of which 
he was for years the proprietor, was a natise of Boston, 
Massachusetts, in which city he was born on June i8, 
1S53. When but nine years of age he was taken abroad 
by his parents, and spent his entire youth in luiropc, 
where he received an unusually thorough education, four 
years of his period abroad being spent at Oxford Uni- 
versity, where lie took the degrees of B.A. and M.A. 
at Christ Church College, graduating in 1873. While 
living in France and German\- he gained a practical 
acquaintance with the languages of those countries, which 
he spoke fluently. While scarcely more than a boy he 
gained, by the charm of his personality and the earnest- 
ness of his intellectual aspirations, the friendship of such 
men as Mr. Gladstone, Victor Hugo, and Mr. Froude. 

At the age of twenty-two Mr. Rice returned to the 
United States, and took up his residence in New York 
City, stud)'ing for a time in the Law School of Colum- 
bia College, but soon abandoning his legal aspirations 
to devote himself to tlic more congenial ])ursuit of liter- 
ature. Heing ]iosscssed of an ample fortune, young, 
refined, accomplished, and attractive in manner, he was 
surrounded by every inducement to surrender himself to 
a life of case, and s])cnd his time among the allurements 
of society and the fascinations of idle enjoyment. But 
Mr. Rice was made of sterner stuff Literary aspiration 
and love of occupation were far stronger in him than 
desire for ease and luxurious idleness, and no jienniless 
young man, with a fortune in his hopes, ever dis|)la\-ed 
more industry and untiring zeal than this scion of wealth. 

He was, as lias been said, in possession of a large for- 
tune, principall)- inheriteil from liis grandmother, and on 
looking around him for some suitable field for the ex- 



ercise of his energies and aspirations, he found one in 
the North Amercian Rcviezo, the oldest magazine then 
existing in the country, but at that time in a state of 
slow decline, and profitable neither to its publishers, its 
I editors, nor its contributors. This \enerable magazine 
was purchased by Mr. Rice in 1876, shortly after his 
return to this countr)-, and at once rejuvenated and 
niaile a vehicle of the live thought of the nation. It 
had been pre\'iously conducted in imitation of the 
British quarterlies, and devoted to voluminous essaj's in 
re\iew of more or less heavy publications. Mr. Rice 
transformed the Rcvici^' from a quarterly to a monthh', 
and dropped its studies of scholarl)' works in favor of 
li\el)- discussion of popular subjects, contributed by men 
in a position to deal with them understandinglj- and in- 
telligently. It was his purpose to make the Rcvitui the 
representative of modern thought and action in every 
direction, llow well he succeeded in this enterprise the 
recent histor)- of the North Avicrican Rex'icw is ample 
evidence. 

Mr. Rice took hold of the Review with an energetic 
hand, constituting himself at once its editor and its pub- 
lisher. In the latter capacit)' he superintended in person 
every detail of its management. In the former he at- 
tended to all the demands of editorship, seeking con- 
tributions on living subjects from leading participants in 
public affairs, and setting a stream of new blood in flow 
through the \-eins of the old magazine which quickly 
restored it to youth again. Soon after purchasing it he 
removed the office of ])ublication to New York, which 
has since then been the home of the Revicic. Mr. Rice 
was not alone a diligent and intelligent editor, but was 
himself an able writer, contributing many articles to the 
pages of his magazine, in addition to which he edited 
" Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln" antl contributcil 
to " Ancient Cities of the World." 

In 1879 he organized and directed the Charnay expe- 
dition for the investigation of the antiquities of Central 
America, and afterwards publishetl sexeral papers by M. 
Charnay detailing his discoveries. He was deepl}' inter- 
ested in science, antl occupied himself in his ^cw hours 
of leisure in laborators- researches, while among his 
friends he counted such high-lights in science as Edison, 
Charcot, and Pasteur. Earl)- in 1S89 he received the 
appointment by the Harrison administration of American 
minister to St. Petersburg. He was just about to sail, 
when, on May 13, he was attacked by a sore throat, 
which rapidly developed into a serious lung affection, 
from which he died suddenly on the morning of May 
If), i8Sc). Never was a brilliant and promising career 
ended more abruptl)'. In the very prime of life, full of 
eager purposes and earnest ])lans, he was cut off sud- 
denly, and the world that had known him so favorably 
knew him no more. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



83 



STUART H. MOORE. 

Stuakt Hull Moore, only son of Joseph H. and 
Sarali A. Moore, was born at Cutchogue, Long Lsland, 
New York, April 26, 1854. Through three generations 
his ancestors have been land-owners and residents of 
Eastern Long Island, his great-grandfather, Benjamin 
Moore, being one of the early settlers in that historic 
region, which was the refuge of an offshoot of the Con- 
necticut colonies, at about the \-ear 1640. His education 
was mainly supplied by the public and private schools of 
the country village where he w-as born, the last year of 
his school life, however, being spent at a preparatory 
academy in an adjacent town. 

At the early age of sixteen years Mr. Moore entered 
a country newspaper office, where he remained about six 
months, there getting his first knowledge of the news- 
paper and printing business. Later in the same year he 
sought and obtained emplo\'ment in a job printing estab- 
lishment in New York Cit)-, where he remained a number 
of years, until he had acquired a complete knowledge of 
every branch of the business. 

In the fall of 1875, when but twenty-one years of 
age, Mr. Moore, in compan\- with Mr. F. M. Lupton 
(his present partner), embarked in the newspaper publish- 
ing business, establishing The Cricket on the Hearth, a 
monthly literar)- journal, which was published continu- 
ousl}' by the firm for a period of fourteen years, at the 
end of which time it was merged into and made a part 
of their present successful publication, The Ladies World. 

The Ladies' World came into existence in the fall of 
1886, being the outgrowth of The Fireside at Tfoii/e, a 
monthl}- literary journal establishetl in 1879. The sub- 
scribers of the latter journal, being of a class largely 
interested in a story paper, for the most part failed to 
renew their subscriptions to the new journal at the be- 
ginning of the year, the consequence being that The 
Ladies' World embarked on its journey of life with less 
than five thousand }'early subscribers. With these 
odds against it, at the end of its first )-ear (1S87) the 
]5ublication had gathered a new and permanent constit- 
uency of nearl}- fifty thousand \'carly subscribers, and 
within the next si.x months this number was increased to 
nearly seventy-five thousand. 

During the year of 1888 the average reached one 
hundred and five thousand and thirty-three copies per 
issue, the gain being partly due to the consolidation of 
The Young Folks' Journal and The Crieket on the Hearth 
w ith The Ladies' World during the autumn of that year. 

In 1889 the circulation increased to an average of one 
hundred and thirty-eight thousand fi\-e hundred copies 
per issue, while 1890 showed a still further increase, the 
average being one hundred and ninety-two thousand five 
hundred. From this time on the growth of this popular 
periodical has been continuous and steady, 1891 showing 
two hundred and fift}--one thousand eight hundred and 




sixty-se\-en, 1892 three hundred and two thousand seven 
hundred and eight, 1893 three hundred and forty-nine 
thousand one hundred and forty-two, and 1894 three 
hundred and eight}--one thousand seven hundred and 
eight copies per issue. The pronounced and unqualified 
success attained by The Ladies' World in the eight years 
of its existence clearly demonstrates the soundness of 
the theory advanced by the publishers, that a first-class 
domestic monthl}-, published in the interest of women, 
carefully edited and circulated at a popular price, could 
not fail to meet with favorable recognition. 

At the age of twent)'-five Mr. Moore married a lady two 
years his junior, of New England parentage and ancestry. 
M}-ra Drake Moore is a lineal descendant of the house of 
Standish, famous in the history of the Plymouth Colony 
in Massachusetts, while on the paternal side are five an- 
cestors of Revolutionary War record, and even back of 
that the family tree can be traced to the Flying Dragon, 
the crest of the pirate captain. Sir Francis Drake. 

Mrs. Moore has been an unobtrusive worker towards 
her husband's success. Before the advent of The Ladies' 
U^orld the literary management of The Cricket on the 
Hearth was almost entirely under her care, while as the 
associate editor of The Ladies' World she has always 
conducted various departments and given untiring energy 
to the literary work, in spite of the fact that four children 
— three boys and one girl — have come to bless an excep- 
tionally happy home. If a congenial companionship is 
an aid to success in life, such has been the lot of the 
subject of this sketch. The children are Arthur Standish, 
Eliot Drake, Dorothy, and Douglas Stuart. 

Mr. S. H. IMoore has always been the active member 
of the publishing house of S. H. Msore & Co., and has 
had exclusive management of The Ladies' World during 
its existence. He is, without doubt, one of the most 
successful men in this branch of the publishing business. 



84 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




VICTOR SMITH. 

ViCTOK Smith, a prominent New York journalist, was 
born at Lawrenceville, Georgia, in i860, the son of the 
well-known author and lecturer distinguished by the 
iioiii dc plume of " V>\\\ Arp." Ho was one of a family 
of thirteen children, of whom the \ounger members 
received but a rudimentary education, the wealth of the 
parents having been greatly reduced by Sherman's march 
through Georgia. Victor's business career began while 
still quite young, as clerk in a crockery store, his even- 
ings being devoted to study. At the age of sixteen he 
received a scholarship at Princeton, his parents desiring 
that he should study for the ministr\- ; but the wreck of 
the famil\- fortunes prevented his attendance at the Theo- 
logical -Seminar}-, and for four years afterwards he was 
occupied in farming. While thus engaged he ajiplied 
unsuccessfully for admission to West Point and Anap- 
oiis, studied civil engineering at home, and at the age 
of twenty left the farm to engage in railroad construction. 

Having, during his leisure hours, gained some practice 
in newspa[)er work, to which his natural inclination led 
him, lie finally made his way to New York, where he 
became the financial agent of a Georgia railroad com- 
pany, wrote special articles for the Herald, and, after 
si,\ months, became connected with this [japer. The 
jjosition proved unsatisfactory to him, however, and he 
resigned it in a few weeks to join the cit\' staff of the 
rribiiiic. Here he served an apprenticeship in e\ery 
department of journalism, gaining the approval of his 
superiors for his diligence and success as a news-getter 
and editor, and by hard work and earnest application 
gradually making his way to the top of the jirofcssion. 

He remained steadily engaged u|)on the Tribune vl\\\\\ 
the winter of 1888, when, broken down by years of 
desk work, he took a long vacation for his health, during 



which he visited South America and the islands of the 
Caribbean Sea, and contributed to the magazines and 
newspapers a series of articles descriptive of his travels 
and observations. On his return to New York he 
resumed his connection wilii the Tribune, resigning the 
foreign desk, however, to succeed George Alfred Town- 
send as the " Broadway Lounger." For three years 
a striking feature of the paper was his column entitled 
" Stray Notes Here and There," — short, spicy paragraphs, 
which covered every feature of life in and around the 
metropolis. 

In addition to his regular work he wrote numerous 
general articles, and was the first of the special writers 
on the staff of the 'J'ribune, his contributions sometimes 
filling two or three pages of the Sunday edition. Part 
of his work at this time was the writing of general intro- 
ductions, — epitomizing important and sensational news 
articles, local, foreign, and domestic. In 1887 he .saw, 
for the first time in his life, a horse-race, and became 
so fascinated with the .sport of the race-course that he 
turned his pen in that direction, being strongly attracted 
bj' its excitement and bustle, and the opportunities for 
speculation which it afforded. In consequence he was 
easilj' pcrsuadeti to accept the position of turf editor, 
and displayed such interest in racing that, in the spring 
of 1892, the Board of Control offered him the place of 
associate judge upon all the tracks within the metro- 
politan circuit, with a very handsome salary. 

He accepted this position, and filled it with general 
satisfaction, his decisions never being questioned. In 
the autumn of 1893 the Board of Control went out of 
existence, being succeeded by the newly-organized Jockey 
Club of Fift)-, which, in the spring of 1894, reappointed 
Mr. Smith. IMeanuhile, in the summer of 1893, the 
Tribune openeil war upon the racing associations, and 
Mr. .Smith withdrew from the paper, beliexing the Board 
of Control to be in the right. For twelve months after- 
wards he, it ma\- Ije saitl, hung on the outskirts of jour- 
nalism ; then, unable longer to resist the attraction of 
his first love, he took up again the regular work of the 
profession, withdrawing from his connection \\ith the 
Jockey Club on October 15, 1894. This was mainly 
in consequence of inharmonious conditions in the racing 
world. Mr. Smith is probably done with the turf 

In addition to his work u|)on the Tribune, he has been 
a frequent contributor to the leailing journals and maga- 
zines of the Uniteil .States. In collaboration w ith Signor 
Giovanni Tagliapietra, the famous baritone, he \\ role the 
opera comique "Carmelita," for which he refused an offer 
of §20,000 before the second act was completed. He is 
now at work on the libretto of a new operetta. He is 
tile inventor of the sonograjjh, an instrument used by 
composers for recording music as it is ])la)'ed upon the 
piano or organ. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



85 



SAMUEL P. FHRREE. 

Samuel P. Ferree, who occupies the foremost posi- 
tion in the Street Railway Advertising business in Amer- 
ica, is the descendant of a French Huguenot family that 
settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1708, under 
a direct grant from William Penn. He is the son of the 
late James B. Ferree, the first President of the National 
Bank of the Republic of Philadelphia, and the original 
promoter of the Third National Bank of the same city. 
Mr. Ferree began his career as a professor in Crittenden's 
Commercial College in Philadelphia in 1852, severing 
that connection in a year or two to become associated 
with his father as junior member of the banking house 
of Ferree & Co. Subsequently this firm organized the 
National Bank of the Republic, and, upon selling the 
controlling interest to the present management, retired 
from the banking business. 

In 1877, Mr. Ferree opened a periodical subscription 
business, and when Harper & Bros, issued Stanley's 
great work of " Through the Dark Continent," he was 
made their agent for Philadelphia and vicinit}-. In 1879 
he founded the Mutual Library on a new and novel plan 
of loaning a given number of books on a system of check 
registers, at from one to five cents each, without fines 
or other securit}- from the holder than the payment of 
one dollar for the check register. The plan met with 
great success. The Mercantile Library Company was 
compelled through competition to grant a number of 
concessions to its subscribers fir wliich they had strug- 
gled for years. In 1892, Mr. P'crree presented the 
Mutual Library- to the city of Philadelphia under the 
care of the Board of Pklucation, forming the First P'ree 
Library of that city. 

In 1883, Mr. Ferree purchased the business of re- 
printing the great English quarterly re\iews, the Edin- 
burgh Rcviciv\ the Quarterly Rcvicii', the Wcstniiustcr 
Rcviciv, the Scottish Review, and BlackwoocV s Magazine 
(monthl)^). To these he soon added the three leading 
English monthh' reviews, the Xineteeuth Century, the 
Contemporary Revie%^\ and tlie Fortnightly Rei'ie7i.'. This 
business is conducted under the name of the Leonard 
Scott Publication Company. Shakespeariana, an Amer- 
ican magazine, the longest lived periodical ever devoted 
to the stud}' of Shakespeare, was published b}' ]\Ir. 
Ferree for ten years, ceasing in 1893. In 1888, Mr. 
Ferree's publishing business was remo\-ed to New 
York and placed under the management of his son, 
Mr. Barr P'erree, well known as an architectural critic 
and writer. 

In 1885, Mr. Ferree first became interested in the Street 
Railway Advertising business. He acquired exclusive 
control of the advertising privileges of the Philadelphia 
Traction Company's and the other lines of cars in Phila- 
delphia, and conducted tiie business under the name 




and style of the Street Railway Advertising Company. 
Under his management the business has been brou<rht 
to an uncqualed standard of excellence. 

In 1890, Mr. P'erree removed to New York, in order 
to enjoy the advantages of its more central location. 
He also obtained the advertising franchises on the lead- 
ing street railways of New York City, Brooklyn, Jersey 
City, Hoboken, and the adjacent cities in New Jersey ; 
and these, added to his privileges in Philadelphia and 
the inland cities of Pcnnsyh'ania, place him in the posi- 
tion of being the largest individual owner and lessee 
of street railway advertising privileges in America, and 
in a territory that is the most thickly settled portion 
of the Eastern States. The centralization of this im- 
mense business in a single head has resulted in many 
advantages to its patrons. His son, Mr. W. Appleton 
Ferree, has the immediate care of the New Jersey 
business. 

The better to equip the cars under his control, Mr. 
Ferree purchased in 1S93 a large veneer and furniture 
plant in Brooklyn, and, under the titles of the Veneer 
Seating and Church I-'urniture Company and the Brook- 
lyn Car-Wood and Veneer Works, carries on the busi- 
ness as manufacturer of the veneer frames used in the 
street cars to hold adveitisements, and \-eneer car ceilings 
and seatings of all kinds, together with a large line of 
furniture novelties. 

Mr. Ferree is an indefatigable worker, and devotes his 
energies and time to the details of his various enter- 
prises with a thoroughness and dispatch that attest his 
sturdy Huguenot ancestry. In 1862 he married Miss 
Annie Appleton Drown, the niece of Mr. William A. 
Drown, the umbrella manufacturer. •He has two sons, 
both, as above mentioned, connected with him in busi- 
ness, and one daughter. 



86 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM L. STRONG. 

WiLi-iAM L. Strong, reform mayor of New York, is 
a native of Oliio, in which State he was born in 1826, 
the son of a farmer who had migrated thither from Con- 
necticut, only to find hfe on the farm a struggle in tiie 
West as it had been in the East, and to lca\e his son 
destitute of the early ad\antages which those born to 
wealth enjoy. Hard work was the bo)-'s preparation 
for life. Fortunately, he was possessed of health and 
strength and a native energy and elasticity of spirit that 
wouUl not permit him to endure idleness or inactivity. 
His father died when he was but thirteen years of age, 
and the burden of supporting the family fell thus early 
upon his youthful shoulders. This responsibility left 
little o[)portunity in his career fc- school studies. For 
years he worked in different dry-goods stores, in moic 
or less humble capacities, gradually .developing those 
business abilities to which he owed his subsequent suc- 
cess. 

He came to New York City while still quite young, 
and obtained a position in the diy-goods house of L. O. 
Wilson & Co., remaining with it until 1857, when it 
shared the fate of thou.sands of others, in being wrecked 
in the financial panic of that year. Continuing with the 
house until its affairs were wound up, he entered in 1858 
the dry-goods commission house of Farnham, Dale & 
Co., in which he continued till December 31, 1869, when 
the firm dissolved. On the succeeding day, January i, 
1870, Mr. Strong organized the firm of W. L. Strong & 
Co., which succeeded to the business of the retiring firm. 
This firm is still in existence, and its career has been one 
of continued prosperity, it having safely weathered the 
various financial storms since that period, and to-day no 
house has a higher standing in the commercial world, 
and no merchant a superior record for honor, probity, 



and business judgment than its founder, William L. 
Strong. He is perhaps better known in the world of 
business and finance as president of the Central National 
Bank, which institution has prospered under his energetic 
but careful management, and to-day stands high among 
the banking institutions of the metropolis. 

Aside from his immediate business interests, Colonel 
Strong — by which title he is ordinarily known — is a 
member of the Union League, the Ohio Societ\-, and 
man)- kindred organizations, is prominent in the first 
social circles of the city, to which his dignity, urbanity, 
and courtesy of manner highly recommend him, and, 
while a Republican in politics, is a warm friend of reform. 
His reputation for honor and just dealing has caused 
him to be chosen on several occasions to arbitrate be- 
tween labor and capital, and on every such occasion he 
has accomplished the difficult ta.sk to the satisfaction of 
all concerned. 

The vigorous assaults of the Rev. Dr. Parkhurst upon 
the Tamnirun- political organization, and the wide-spread 
corruption that was shown to exist in the investigation 
that followed, produced in 1894 so strong a demand for 
municipal reform in New York that the most thorough 
party leaders diti nut dare to ignore it. In September 
a " Committee of Seventy" was formed, composed of 
prominent business men combined in the interests of 
reform, which Committee, fimling that it would not be 
safe to nominate a Democrat for the mayoralty in the 
excited state of public feeling, selected William L. Strong 
as their candidate for mayor, a choice which was quickly 
endorsed by the German Reform L'nion, and bj- reformers 
generalK' without regard to part}-. 

The election which followed clearly indicated the feel- 
ing of the people. Colonel Strong was elected nia\or 
by a inajorit)- of fort)--n\c thousand one hiuulied and 
eightj'-seven over Hugh J. Grant, the candidate of Tam- 
many, a phenomenal change from the ordinary results 
of elections in New York City. Mayor Strong at once 
went to work, with the earnestness for which he is 
distinguished, to redeem the cit)- from its incubus of 
peculation and jobbery. Though elected on a non- 
partisan ticket, he was politicalh' a Re]niblican, and 
Thomas C. I'latt, Republican leader in the State, im- 
mediately sought to control him in the matter of nom- 
inations, with the hope of making the city, as of old, a 
party preserve. Major Strong, however, quickly proved 
that he had not acceiiteil office for any such purpose, 
and proceeded to make a])pointments without regard to 
party affiliation, and solely on the basis of ability and 
integrit)-, despite the opposition of Piatt and his legislative 
supporters. As a result. New York possesses to-day the 
best administration it has had for years, and from being 
one of the worst, promises to become one of the best- 
governed cities on the American continent. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



87 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TRACY. 

Benjamin Franklin Tracv was born in Owcgo, New 
York, April 2, 1830. His fatlicr was a man of marked 
integrity and enterprise, a pioneer in the settlement of 
the southern tier of counties in that State. His son was 
fond of study, and was educated at the Owego Academy. 
When of the proper age he entered a law office in his 
native town, and was admitted to the bar in May, 185 1. 
He soon won local distinction, for he was pitted against 
men who afterwards became distinguished. In 1853 he 
was, as the Whig cantlidate, elected district attorney for 
Tioga County, at that time a Democratic stronghold. 
He was re-elected in 1S56, beating the Democratic can- 
didate, Hon. Gilbert C. Walker, afterwards governor of 
Virginia. Although on opposite sides, they were friends, 
and soon after this election formed a law partnership. 
In 1 86 1 Tracy took an active and prominent part in the 
exciting politics of the time, and filled Important offices 
in the State Legislature. In the spring of 1862, under 
appointment of the governor of New York, he recruited 
two regiments of State troops, the One Hundred and 
Ninth and the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh, and 
became the colonel of the former. This regiment first 
went to Baltimore, and then to Washington, D. C, where 
it remained on duty until the spring of 1864. Then, 
with the general advance under Grant, it joined the 
Ninth Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and 
took part in the battle of the Wilderness. Near the 
close of the battle he fell, exhausted by his exertions, 
and was carried from the field ; but refused to go to the 
hospital, and continued to lead his regiment during the 
three days' conflict at Spottsylvania, when he utterly 
broke down, and was forced to surrender his command 
to the lieutenant-colonel. He then went North, to recruit 
his health, and, in the following September, was made 
colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh U. S. 
Colored Troops, and soon after was assigned to the com- 
mand of the military' post at Elmira, New York, where 
was a prison camp and the draft rendezvous for Western 
New York. In this camp there were at one time as 
many as ten thousand prisoners. 

In March, 1865, Colonel Tracy was brevetted briga- 
dier-general of \olunteers, for gallant and meritorious 
serxices during the war. On June 13, 1865, he was 
honorably discharged, on tendering his resignation. 

Colonel Tracy then entered the law firm of Benedict, 
Burr & Benedict, in New York Cit}*, and in 1866 was 
appointed U. S. district attorney for the Eastern District 
of New York, during which time he drew an internal 
revenue bill which more than trebled the re\enue of the 




United States, at the period when our credit was being 
established by the rapid payment of the huge war-debt. 

In 1873 Colonel Tracy resigned his position, and again 
entered upon the general practice of his profession, being 
engaged in many notable cases. 

In December, 1881, he was appointed by the governor 
of New York an associate justice of the State Court of 
Appeals, the appointment being to fill a vacancy. This 
he held for two years, and then returned to the practice 
of the law with Mr. William De Witt, and his son, F. 
F. Tracy, their office being established in Brooklyn. 
While thus engaged in business, he was, on March 5, 
1889, appointed by President Harrison, Secretary of the 
Navy, and was confirmed on the same day by the Senate. 
The Secretary entered very zealously upon the prosecu- 
tion of the plans for the rehabilitation and increase of the 
naval force, — an object which meets the approval of ad- 
ministrations of widely different opinions in other matters. 

In April, 1 89 1, he reported that the department was 
then engaged in the construction of twenty-five vessels, 
in addition to eleven completed and put in ser\ice since 
the spring of 1889 ; that the Washington gun-foundry for 
heavy artillery had- been brought to high perfection, and 
that a reserve naval militia was in process of formation, 
fostered by the department. The principle of Civil Ser- 
vice Reform was applied to the administration of our 
navy-yards in a most gratifying way during his service. 

General Tracy is a companion of the Loj-al Legion 
and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He 
is now in active practice of the law in New York City, 
and is one of the most distinguished and successful mem- 
bers of the bar of New York .State. « 



88 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




I.lHUTHNANT-GENtRAL JOHN M. SCHOFIHLO. 

Liklti'.nant-Gf.nkkal John M. Sciioi-ikld (coniniaiui- 
ing the army) was born in New York, September 29, i S3 1 , 
and graduated at the Military Academ\-, July i, 1853. 
He was promoted brevet second lieutenant of artiller\- 
the same day, and second lieutenant First Artillerj-, 
August 31, 1853. He served at Fort Moultrie in 1853, 
and in Florida in 1854-55, as acting assistant professor 
of philosophy, and assistant professor of the same at 
the Military Academy from 1856 to i860. He was on 
leave of absence as professor of physics, at Washington 
Uni\ersitj', St. Louis, Missouri, in 1860-61, and when 
the War of the Rebellion commenced was made muster- 
ing officer for the State of Missouri, from April 20 to 
Ma\- 20, 1861. He was major of the I'irst Missouri In- 
fantry, April 26; captain. First United States Artillery, 
May 14; brigadier-general of volunteers, November 21 ; 
brigadier-general of Missouri State Militia, November 
26, 1861 ; and major-general United States Volunteers, 
November 29, 1862. 

He joined our forces near Fredericktown, Missouri ; 
organized and eipiipiied a battery, and took part in the 
battle of Fredericktown, October 21, 1861 ; he com- 
manded the District of St. Louis, No\ember 2J, 1861, 
to February, 1862, and District of Missouri from Feb- 
ruary 15 to Sejitember 26, 1862, and organized and com- 
manded the Missouri State Militia during this period. 
He was member of the Army and Navy Hoard to ex- 
amine the condition and fitness of the Mississippi Gun 
and Mortar-boat i-'lotilla, December g to 31, 1861 ; from 
September, 1862, to April, 1863, organized and com- 
manded the Army of the Frontier, in Southwest Mis- 
souri and Northwest Arkansas, forcing the Confederates 
south of the Arkansas River; in command of the Third 
Division, Fourteenth y\rmy Corps, Army of the Cumber- j 
land. April 20 to Ma\- \\. 186^,; in command of the, 



Department of the Missouri (ex officio major-general, 
commanding Missouri State Militia), May 13, 1863, to 
January 31, 1864, during which time the forces under 
his command operated with success in Missouri and Ar- 
kansas as far south as Little Rock. He commanded the 
Department and Army of the Ohio, January 31, 1864, 
to January 29, 1865, forming the left wing of General 
Sherman's army (opposing Johnston), participating in all 
the operations and movements thereof including the 
Atlanta campaign. In October, 1864, he was sent with 
the Twenty-third Corps to report to General Thomas at 
Naslu'illc, Tennessee, and commanded the troops in the 
field opposed to the Confederate General Hood, from 
November 13 to December i, 1864, including the battle 
of Franklin, No\-ember 30. In the decisive victor\- 
gained by General Thomas near Nashville, December 
15, 16, General Schofield participated with the Twent\-- 
third Army Corps ; in pursuit of the army under General 
Hood, to Januar\- 14, 1865. At this time the Twenty- 
third Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, General Schofield 
commanding, was transported from Clifton, Tennessee, to 
Washington, D. C, and transferred to North Carolina by 
the 8th of I'ebruar\% 1865. Commanded the Department 
of North Carolina and Army of the Ohio, February 8, 
1865, forming a junction with General Sherman at Golds- 
borough, March 22, 1865 ; present at Durham's Station, 
North Carolina, April 26, 1 865, and intrusted with the exe- 
cution of the terms of capitulation of Johnston's army. 

General .Schofield was appointed brigadier-general 
United States Arm\- November 30, 1864, and brexetted 
major-general March 13, 1865, and on the 4th of March, 
1869, was atKanced to the grade of major-general United 
States Army. 

He was sent on special mission to lunopc, November, 
1865, to May, 1866, and successively commanded the 
Department of the Potomac, Richmond, Virginia, the 
First Military District (State of Virginia), and was Sec- 
retary of War from June i, 1868, to March 11, 1869. 
He commanded the Department of the Missouri, and 
tlie Military I)i\'ision of the Pacific vuitil Jul)', 1S76; was 
on special mission to the Hawaiian Islands, December 
30, 1S72, to .April, 1873; supcrinliiulenl United States 
Military Academy, July, 1876, to January 21, 1881 ; in 
command of the Militar\- Division of the Gulf, which was 
discontinued May 9, iSSi, and General Schofield then 
spent a year in travel in luiropc. He then commanded 
the Military Division of the Pacitk, the Division of the 
Missouri, and the Division of the Atlantic, and was then 
assigned to the command of the Army of the United 
States, by order of the President, August 14, 1888. He 
is at present in command, and president of Hoard of Ord- 
nance and Fortifications, created by Act of Congress, 
ajjproved September 22, 1888. Promoted to Lieutenant- 
General, l"(l)ru.u)-, 1895. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



89 



REV. CHARLES H. PARKHURST. 

TwENTV-ONE years ago a j-ouiil;' man, Charles Henry 
Parkhurst by name, was called to preach in the little 
town of Lenox, Massachusetts. To-day that man has 
become one of the leading forces in civilization, through 
his fearless and successful assault on the festering evils 
of New York City politics. He was born at Framing- 
ham, Massachusetts, April 17, 1842, where his fether was 
eneafreil in farm work ckiriiiL;' the summer and at school- 
teaching in winter. Until sixteen \-ears of age Charles 
was a pupil in the Clinton Grammar School. The suc- 
ceeding two years he .served as clerk in a dry-goods 
store, and at eighteen was sent to Lancaster Academy 
to prepare for college. In 1862 he was entered at 
Amherst College, where he graduated in 1866, and in 
the following year became principal of Amherst High 
School, remaining until 1870. In that year he went to 
Germany, with the purpose of studying philosophy 
and theology, but was forced soon to return home on 
account of illness in the famih'. 

He now became professor of Greek and Latin in 
Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, and 
two years afterwards married Miss Bodman, one of his 
former pupils at Amherst. With his wife he now 
returned to Europe, where he remained two years en- 
gaged in study at Halle, Leipsic, and Bonn, and on his 
return spent some months at his old home, devoting part 
of his time to the study of Sanscrit. In the spring of 
1S74 he received and accepted a call to the T'irst Con- 
gregational Church of Lenox, in which field of duty he 
soon gained a reputation as a pulpit orator. His resi- 
dence in New York City began in 18S0, he receiving, on 
March 8 of that year, a call to the Madison Avenue 
Presbyterian Church, his present charge. In this new 
and broader field of duty he began to take an active 
interest in municipal and national politics, and gave his 
views to his congregation from the pulpit with a force 
and eloquence that from the first attracted attention. 

Ten years afterwards Dr. Parkhurst began to play 
a more prominent part in city affairs. A sermon on 
municipal politics, preached b\- him in 1890, attracted 
the attention of Dr. Howard Crosby, president of the 
Society for the Prevention of Crime, and induced him to 
in\'ite the acti\'e pastor to become a member and director 
of the Society. He accepted the offer, went heartily to 
work, and on April 30, 1891, after Dr. Crosby's death, 
was elected president of the Society. The new president 
at once began a thorough study of the situation, fortify- 
ing himself with data, and a year afterwards, in Febru- 
ary 1892, delivered a sermon on the corruption of the 
municipal government of New York which struck fear- 
lessly at men in high places, and the echoes of whose 
bitter arraignment reverberated throughout the English- 
speaking world. 




The effect in New York was cyclonic. The bold 
preacher was summoned before the grand jur\', which 
declared that his charges against the police and officials 
were without substantial foundation. He, iiowever, was 
not to be so easily silenced, but sustained his views 
before the jur\-, and at once began to gather material 
for another sermon whose facts should be beyond 
question. To make sure of this, he employed detec- 
tives, and even made personal visits to saloons, policy- 
shops, gambling-hells, and houses of ill fame, where he 
witnessed scenes of the lowest depravity. The results 
of his inquiry were given to the public in another ser- 
mon that rang like the \'oice of doom in the ears of the 
upholders of vice. His course was bitterh* assailed by 
some, and as strongly defended by others, but he kept 
firm. In March, 1892, he was again summoned before 
the grand jury, and now so convinced them of the correct- 
ness of his statements that they made a strong present- 
ment, charging the police authorities with " incompetence 
or corruption." The matter could not stop here. The 
reform element of New York was too thoroughly aroused 
to be lightly put to rest again, and the final result was 
the appointment of a legislative committee of inqin'ry, 
the famous Lexow Committee. The results of this in- 
vestigation are public propert\-. We need say no more 
about them here than that they are solely due to the 
unflinching and persistent attacks of Dr. Parkhurst upon 
corruption in high and low places alike, his arraignment 
even reaching the judiciarj-, while his assault on Tam- 
many Hall was so vigorous as to play a leading part in 
the overwhelming defeat of that organization at the polls 
in 1894. Dr. Parkhurst is no longer subject to detrac- 
tion. To-day he is the most highlfr respected citizen of 
New York, while his crusade for municipal reform is 
having its useful effect in every city in the land. 



90 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




THEODORE W. MYERS. 

Theodore Walter Mveks, recently comptroller of 
the city of New York, was born in that cit}% January 1 1, 
1 844, being the son of Lawrence Myers, a prominent 
merchant and a leading spirit in commercial and social 
circles. Mr. Myers received a preparatory training for 
college at schools in New York City, and also in France 
and Germany, but ill health obliged him to give up a 
collegiate course, and he turned liis attention to busi- 
ness, becoming in 1864 a clerk in the banking house of 
I'olhemus & Jackson. After a few \ears' e.\periencc in 
this establishment he became a member of tlie new firm 
of Camblos & Myers. After several years this firm dis- 
solved, and he continued in business for some )'ears 
longer under his own name. This was followed by a 
period of connection, as special partner, with the banking 
house of M. E. De Rivas & Co., anil by a jear or two 
of travel abroad, after which, in 1884, he organized the 
banking house of Theodore W. Myers & Co , of which 
he continues the head. Since its origin this house has 
stood high among the conservative firms upon which the 
credit of Wall Street rests. It docs a large commission 
business, with branches in lioston, Philadelphia, Bal- 
timore, Chicago, and other cities, and has earned and 
maintained a reputation second to none for legitimate 
enterprise and scrupulous probity. 

Mr. Myers's business career has been combined with 
great activity in military, political, and social affairs. 
iJuring the civil war he was very active in organizing the 
.Sickles Brigade, in which lie served for a time as captain 
of its Third Regiment. For many years afterwards he 
was connected with the City Guard, and at a later date 
became an officer in the Ninth Regiment of the New 
York State National Guard. 

Politically he has followed his father's example in being 



an unswerving Democrat, tlie interests of which party he 
has been active in promoting. In 1884 he took a leading 
part in the Presidential campaign, organizing the Cleve- 
land and Hendricks Stock Exchange Canii)aign Club, 
and arranging for the great down-town Democratic rallj% 
held on the steps of the Sub-treasury Building in Wall 
Street. In May, 1887, he was appointed b\- Mayor 
Hewitt a member of the Park Commission, and was soon 
after elected treasurer of that board. In tlie fall of the 
same year the united Democracy nominated him as their 
candidate for comptroller, and he was elected by over 
fort)'-five thousand plurality, leading the whole ticket. 
In this office he gave such general satisfaction that in 
1890 all parties — Republican, Tammany, and County 
Democracy — united in his rcnomination, and he recci\ed 
two hundretl and seven thousand and eleven out of a 
total of two hundred and thirteen thousand one hundred 
and ninety-nine votes. At the expiration of his second 
term of office he was strongly pressed by the Citizens' 
Mo\'ement and the Good Government Club to accept a 
second rcnomination, with every assurance of re-election. 
He declined, however, to run again for the office. More 
recently he has been unanimously elected president of 
the Business Men's Democratic Association of New York. 

While in office Mr. Myers's management of the re- 
sponsible duties committed to his care e.xcited universal 
commcntlation, as may be percei\ed by the sup])ort 
given and offered him by citizens of all parties. For 
energj', fidelity to dut\-, and far-seeing acumen his ad- 
ministration has never been surpassed. He was a member 
of numerous municipal boards and committees, in which 
he brought to bear with the best results the keen dis- 
crimination which has made him so successful as a busi- 
ness man, while he zealously guarded and promoted the 
highly important interests of the cit_\- intrusted to his care. 
Among the many striking results of his administration 
may be cited his successful placing of the first loan ever 
made by .uiy numicipalit)' at the low rate of two anil a 
iialf ])er cent. 0\er Si 4,000,000 of bonds were issued 
at this rate, most of them being sold at a substantial 
premium. Tiiis financial triumph won him general and 
well-merited praise. 

In 1870, Mr. Myers married Miss Rosalie Hart, a 
granildaughter of Bernard Hart, a prominent merchant 
and citizen of fifty years ago. They luue one son, a 
graduate of Columbia College, and a member of the 
banking firm. Mr. Myers has always been a liberal 
patron of the arts, ami is a member of the Manhattan, 
New York, Rockaway Hunt, National Hunt, Demo- 
cratic, New York Yacht, Reform, New York Athletic, 
Thirteen, and other clubs ; of the Historical and Geo- 
grai)hical .Societies, and of a number of musical societies, 
and is a familiar and favorite figure in the social circles 
of the metropolis. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



91 



EDWARD TRENCHARD. 

Edward Trenchakd was born in the city of Philadel- 
phia on August 17, 1850, and is the only child of Stephen 
Decatur Trenchard and Ann O'C. Barclay Trenchard, 
and grandson of Captain Edward Trenchard of the 
United States navy. He was educated at one of the 
leading private schools of Philadelphia, and at an early 
age evinced a decided talent for the fine arts, an ability 
which he seems to have inherited from his grandfather, 
above named. That officer studied painting and engrav- 
ing under Gilbert Fox, a well-known English artist 
(whom he had induced to come to this country), and also 
under liis uncle, James Trenchard, who was noted as an 
engraver, and was the publisher of the Coluiiihiaii Maga- 
::inc. 

On reaching his eighteenth year of age, Mr. Trenchard 
began his special studies in the office of the celebrated 
architect Richardson, then in New York City. After a 
period devoted to the study of this branch of art, he 
gave up the pursuit of architecture in favor of painting, 
entering the School of Design, and subsequently taking 
lessons in the Art Students' League. This period of 
study was followed by a \-isit to Europe, mainly with the 
purpose of obtaining the advantages of art study offered 
by that countr\-. All the important art galleries of 
Europe were \'isited b\- him, and their artistic treasures 
closely studied, and the same was the case with the art 
galleries of the Paris Exposition of that date, to whose 
display he gave special attention. 

On his return to America, with powers ripened by his 
observations abroad, Mr. Trenchard devoted himself 
specially to the study of painting, under the direction of 
Professor Holmes, of Philadelphia, Miss Fidelia Bridges, 
Peter Moran, and Henry C. Bispham. This period of 
study was followed by a trip to the West Indies, he 
having accepted the position of atlniiral's clerk on the 
North Atlantic Squadron. Here he was enabled to appl\- 
his long-continued studies in one of the richest fields of 
natural scenerj^, and he brought back with him many 
tropical studies, which he has since reproduced on canvas. 

From this time forward Mr. Trenchard W'orked dili- 
gently with his brush in that field of art to which talent 
and inclination drew him, — the delineation of natural 
scener)'. His works have been frequently exhibited in 
the art galleries of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and 
in various Western art exhibitions, and include among 
their best known examples " The Passing Shower," 




" The Old Wreck," " Sea Sand and Solitude," all exhibited 
at the Academy of Design, New York ; and " Sunset on 
the Strand," " Moose Peak Island, Maine," " The Break- 
ing Waves Dashed High," "A Tropic Beach," " Surf," 
and " Castle Rock, Marblehead," exhibited in the gallerj' 
of the Society for the Promotion of Art and in the art 
departments of various exhibitions. 

In regard to the character of Mr. Trenchard's work a 
critic has said, " The artist seems to prefer nature in her 
quieter color aspects, and is most successful in his paint- 
ing of waves and surf." 

He has not exhibited any pictures recently, although 
constantly engaged in painting from nature. Much of 
his time during recent years has been given to literary 
research in the records of the Colonial and Revolutionary 
periods, on which he is considered an authority. 

Mr. Trenchard was married June 11, 1878, to Mary 
Cornelia Stafford, daughter of William Bacon Stafford, 
president of the North River Savings Bank. He was 
one of the founders of the Society of Colonial W'ars, in 
which he has held various official positions. He is 
assistant secretary of the Sons of the Revolution, vice- 
president of the General Society of 181 2, member of the 
Council of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Naval 
Order, hereditary member of the Aztec Society and the 
Loyal Legion, and member of various other societies, 
military, art, and historical. For services rendered the 
Venezuelan government he received the Order of Bolivar 
(third class) from that go\'ernment. 



92 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




COLONEL DANIEL APPLETON. 

Danikl Appleton, well known in niililaiy circles as 
the colonel of the famous Seventh Regiment, of the New 
York State National Guard, and in business circles from 
liis prominent connection with the publishintj trade, was 
born in the city of New York, February 24, 1S52, his 
father being John A. Appleton, his grandfather Daniel 
Appleton, founder of the publishing house of D. Apple- 
ton & Co. The family has been one of long continuance 
in this country, and had its share in making American 
history for a hundred years before the Revolution. Its 
militarj- tendencies are shown in the fact tliat three of 
Colonel Appleton's great-grandfathers fought in the 
Revolutionary War, and two of liis grandfathers heltl com- 
missions in the War of 181 2. 

It was proposed In* his ]).irents that he should take a 
college course in Harvard College, preparatoi)- to which 
he spent jxirt of the j'ears 1866 and 1867 studj'ing in 
Germany. On his return home he resumed liis residence 
in New York, where he continued his studies preparator\- 
to passing a college examination. He was but a young 
boy during the civil war, or doubtless his military pro- 
clivity would have led him into that conflict, for in 1867, 
when only fifteen years of age, he entereil the famous 
Boston Cadet Corps, with which he gained his first e.\- 
perience of military life. l""or the five succeeding sum- 
mers lie went into camp with that org.mizalion, gaining 
in this active duty some knowledge of the duties and 
privations of a military career. During this period lie 
was occu])ied in study at Harvard, where, however, he 
was not able to graduate, the demands of the publish- 
ing house requiring his presence in 1871, and inducing 
him to give up college for business. Since that date 
he has continued one of the most active members of the 
firm. 



His connection with the Cadet Corps had given him 
what he thought was enough of soldiering, but events 
((uickly proved the contrary. The inciting cause which 
biought him back into the ranks was the Orange riot of 
Jul)- 12, 1S71. "If respectable men cannot parade in 
peace under the law," he said, " it is time for Americans 
to do something," and that he might be ready to do his 
part he enlisted on October 31, 1 871, as a private in " F" 
Company, Seventh Regiment, of which company he has 
remained a member ever since. 

Step by step he advanced in rank in the regiment. 
On the 8th of April, 1873, he received his first grade of 
promotion, being made corporal, and on the 7th of 
November of the same year was raised to the grade of 
sergeant. He gained the promotion to first sergeant on 
March 9, 1875, and as such he paraded with the regi- 
ment in lioston on Bunker-Hill Day. His ne.\t step of 
promotion came on Maj' 23, 1876, when he was made 
second lieutenant. With this rank he accompanied the 
regiment to Philadelphia during the Centennial Ivxposi- 
tion of that year, and encamped with it in tents in which 
at times the thermometer recorded one hundred and ten 
degrees. It was a service in which there maj' perhaps 
have been glory, but certainly there was no comfort or 
enjoyment. At a later date, during the railroad riots of 
1877, he helped garrison the old armory over Tomkin's 
Market until the exigencv' had passed. I Ic was promoted 
captain on the 13th of January, 1879. 

At that time " 1' " Compan\- had about thirty-five men 
in its ranks. Under Captain Appleton it grew rapitlU- 
in numbers and within a year had one hundred and three, 
the number allowed by law, with others an.xious for ad- 
mittance. Since that time there has always been a wait- 
ing list, (^n July 19, 1889, Captain Appleton received 
another and flattering promotion, being elected to succeed 
Fmmons Clark as colonel of the regiment, a position 
which he still retains. As oflicer in command of the 
Seventh, Colonel Appleton has won general respect and 
esteem, and during the recent strike of street-car opera- 
tives in Brooklyn his service, with that of his splendid 
regiment, has deepened the feelings of respect and esteem 
with which he anti his command are regarded b\- all 
law-abiding citizens. 

In the publishing house of D. Appleton & Co. Col- 
onel Appleton has made himself practically familiar w ith, 
and has been in charge, at intervals, of all branches, 
and is at present essentiall)- at the head of its business 
dejiartment. I Ic is unmarried, and is a member of a 
number of the leading clubs of New York, — including 
the Century, the Union, and the New York .Vthletic, — 
but does not consider liimself a club-man, his duties 
with his company and regiment occupj'ing the most of 
his leisure, to the exclusion of much devotion to club 
I life. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



93 



CHARLES F. MAYER. 

Mr. Ch.4rle.s Frederick M.wer, President of the 
Baltimore and Ohio Raihoad Company, is a son of 
Lewis Mayer, who was one of the first men to develop 
the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania, and was a 
noted Maryland lawyer. The father of Lewis Mayer 
was Christian Ma\-er, who emigrated from German)- and 
settled in Baltimore shortly after the Revolutionary War. 
I Ic was one of the leading merchants of Baltimore, 
represented the kingdom of Wurtemberg as Consul- 
Generai, and was one of the founders of the German 
Society in 1817, and its first president. 

His son, Charles F. Mayer, whose name has been 
inherited by the subject of our sketch, was a distin- 
guished public man of Maryland and a prominent Whig. 
He was a State Senator, and, as chairman of the joint 
committee of both houses, was the means of settling 
the troubles between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company. The late 
Colonel Brantz Mayer, Paymaster in the U. S. A., and a 
distinguished literary man of this city, was an uncle of 
the present Charles F. Mayer. All of the Mayers have 
been distinguished men; — some in law, some as merchants, 
— and nearly every one of them had some connection 
with railroads and other large enterprises. 

The present Charles F. Mayer was born in Pennsyl- 
vania while his father and mother were temporarily living 
in that State. When quite a young man he became a 
clerk in the office of his uncle, Frederick Koenig, who 
was one of the largest merchants of his time in Balti- 
more. Mr. Mayer served for a time as supercargo on 
vessels trading to South America in his uncle's business, 
but after an absence of two years returned from Val- 
paraiso to Baltimore, where he became the head of the 
firm his uncle had founded. About 1864, he, in company 
with Thomas and Joseph Jenkins and others, organized 
the Despard Gas Coal Company, with mines at Clarks- 
burg, West Virginia, becoming president of the company. 

In IVLarch, 1877, he was elected President of the Con- 
solidation Coal Company, and also of the Cumberland 
and Penns\-lvania Railroad Company, and a few years ago 
was elected President of the Susquehanna and Tidewater 
Canal Compan\-. In 1871 he established the firm of 
Mayer, Carroll & Company, engaged in the business of 
mining and shipping coal, and subsequently became a 
partner of Mr. Hemy G. Davis, under the firm name of 
Davis, Mayer & Co. This firm dissolved some time ago, 
and the two partners are now the heads of competing 
railroad and coal companies. 

Mr. Mayer is a director in a number of banking, steam- 
ship, and other corporations. He married his cousin. 
Miss Susan Douglas Keim, daughter of the late Hon. 
George May Keim, of Reading, Pennsyhania. 

The Consolidation Coal Company, of which he has so 

13 




long been the able president, mines over one million tons 
of coal a year, and has a capital of over $10,000,000. 

In December, 1 88 1 , he was elected President of the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. That great cor- 
poration was, at the date of his election, in a depressed 
condition financially, and all of Mr. Mayer's experience, 
energy, and ability have been called acti\-el_\- into pla)- to 
restore it to the commanding position it once held. In 
this arduous duty he is making important progress, and 
promises in due time to be full}- successful. The general 
public, in fact, is just beginning to learn, what has been 
long known and conceded in business circles, that among 
the leading railroad managers of the century must be 
included Charles F. Ma)-er, who holds full rank with 
the able men at the head of the other great trunk line 
systems of the country. 

Personally, Mr. Mayer devotes himself so closely to 
the many important interests that demand his attention 
that he has little time for social rela.xations. his hours of 
release from duty being principalh- spent in the enjoy- 
ment of home life. In person he is tall and spare, with 
a face displaying strong force and intelligence. In manner 
he is very precise, earnest, and vigorous. In conversation 
he can be pleasing, and talks logically and persuasively, 
but when aroused is very determined and aggressive. 
All through his life he has been successful, and, while 
he inherited a large fortune and earned another, he 
makes no display, because he has no time to indulge in 
luxury and extravagance. Not only a tireless worker 
himself, he inspires all who surround him to be indus- 
trious. His affairs are almost as important in Philadel- 
phia and New York as they are in Baltimore, and the 
important relation which the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- 
road now bears to the business interests of Philadelphia 
fully entitles him to a place in the present volume. 



94 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




FREDERICK A. 



BARNARD. 



Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard, president after 
1864 of Columbia College, was a native of Sheffield, 
Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he was born 
May 5, 1809. He was descended from l'"rancis Barnard, 
of Coventry, England, who came to Massachusetts in 
1636, and on his mother's side from John Porter, whose 
arrival in this country took place in 1628. After receiv- 
ing elementary education from his mother, he was fitted 
for college at Saratoga Springs and at Stockbridge, 
Massachusetts, and entered Yale College in 1824, from 
which he graduated with high honors in 1828. 

Mis life as a teacher began immediately afterwards in 
the Hartford grammar school, where he taught two years, 
and which he left to become a tutor in Yale College. 
In 1832 he came to New York, having accrpted a ])osi- 
tion in the institution for the deaf and dumb in that city. 
During his stay there he prepared and published an 
" Analytic Grammar." His ne.xt position was in the 
University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa, in which he ac- 
cepted the chair of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, 
which he filled till 1849, when he became professor of 
Chemistry and Natural History in the same institution. 
In 1854 he entered the University of Mississippi, at 
O.xford, as professor of Mathematics and Natural Phi- 
losophy, and in 1856 was elected president of that uni- 
versity. Two years afterwards this title was changed to 
chancellor. 

While thus engaged in professorial and presidential 



duties, Professor Barnard was actively engaged in other 
directions. In 1846 he served as astronomer on a com- 
mission organized to determine the boundary between 
Alabama and Florida, and in i860 was a member of 
the astronomical expedition sent to Cape Ludleigh in 
Labrador, to obserxe the solar eclipse of that year. He 
also, during his residence in the South, wrote largely for 
the periodical press, delivered many public addresses, and 
published various papers on educational and scientific 
subjects. 

In i860. Professor Barnard was elected president of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 
which office he held till 1866. He was also one of the 
original corporators of the National Academy of Sci- 
ences, who were named in the act of Congress of 1863 
incorporating that institution. In 1874 he served as 
chairman of the physical section of the Academy, and 
was its foreign secretary from that year until 1 880. 

In 1 861, on the outbreak of the civil war. Dr. Barnard 
resigned his position as chancellor of the University of 
Mississippi, but was for some time refused permission to 
leave the Confederate States. He finally succeeded in 
making his way to Washington, where for some time he 
was engaged in astronomical work under the director of 
the Naval Observatory. In the spring of 1863 he was 
appointed to a position on the Coast Survey, being given 
charge of the map and chart department of the Survey. 

His election to the presidency of Columbia College 
took place in Ma)', 1864, and he continued in this posi- 
tion until his death in 1889. He was appointed in 1866 
on the government commission to visit and report on 
the French Universal Exposition of 1867, and afterwards 
contributed to the reports the veiy elaborate third volume 
of the series. He also represented this country at the 
Paris Exposition of 1878, as assistant commissioner- 
general, and received from the French ministrj-, in attes- 
tation of his valuable services, the cross of the Legion 
of Honor. Two years previously, in 1876, he had served 
as one of tiie judges on instruments of precision at the 
Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. His publications 
embrace a volume on the " Metric System of Weights 
and Measures," and part of Field's " Outlines of a Code 
of International Law" and of Harper's " First Century 
of the Republic." From 1873 to 1S77 he was editor- 
in-chief of "Johnson's Cyclop.edia." In 1S55 Jefferson 
College, Mississippi, confered on him the honorary degree 
of LL.D., and Yale gave iiim the same honor in 1859. 
He died April 27, 1889. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



95 



GENERAL EGBERT L. VIELE. 

Egbert L. Viele, pre-eniincntl)' one of the creators of 
New York, was born at Waterford, New York, on the 
17th day of June, 1825. His early education at the 
Albany Academy was supplemented by a four years' 
course at the West Point MiUtary Academy, on graduat- 
ing; from wliich, in 1847, he joined the army of General 
Winficld Scott in Mexico, his first service being as adju- 
tant of a cavalry command composed of United States 
Dragoons and Texas Rangers. Subsequently he joined 
the Second Regiment of United States Infantry and was 
assigned to the command of a company, although in 
rank only a second lieutenant. Afterwards he was pro- 
moted to the First Infantry, and at the close of the war 
was assigned to duty with his regiment on the Rio 
Grande frontier. Here, while in command of his com- 
pan}', he explored, located, and constructed a military 
road from Rio Grande City and Camargo to Laredo, a 
distance of one lunuhcd and twcnt_\--five miles through 
a region of dense chaparral, infested by hostile Indians 
and wild animals. On the completion of this important 
work, he was ordered by General Worth to establish a 
military post at Laredo, and given a major's command 
of a battalion of mounted troops, although still a second 
lieutenant. 

After about four years of frontier service Lieutenant 
Viele resigned his commission and entered upon the 
practice of the engineering profession in the city of New 
York, where from the outset he became prominent in 
plans for public improvements. Having been appointed 
State engineer of New Jersey, he conducted an elaborate 
geodetic and topographical survey of that State, which 
has added incalculably to its wealth and prosperity. Sub- 
sequently he designed the plan for the improvement of 
Central Park, which has received the approval of the 
lovers of rural art throughout the world. He also de- 
signed the plan of improvement for Prospect Park, 
Brooklyn, with which work he was connected at the 
breaking out of the ci\il war, when, as Captain Viele, 
he at once organized and carried into execution a plan 
to aid in the defense of the national capital, proceeding 
directl)- to Washington by water in command of a well- 
appointed and well-drilled body of men, and opening 
the passage of the Potomac by fearlessly ascending that 
river when it was reported to be closed b}- formidable 
rebel batteries. He was met on landing by President 
Lincoln in person, who came to the wharf to greet and 
thank him. After aiding in superintending the construc- 
tion of Fort Runyon, the first w'ork executed for the de- 
fense of Washington, he was appointed by the President, 
without his request, a brigadier-general of volunteers, 
and assigned to the command of a camp of instruction 
near New York. Subsequently he ser\-ed as second in 
command of the land forces of the expedition that cap- 




tured Port Royal. He led the force that compelled the 
surrender of Fort Pulaski, and at a later date formed 
and skillfully executed a plan for the capture of Norfolk. 
He was at once appointed military governor of Norfolk 
and Portsmouth, where, by a thoroughly organized sys- 
tem of surveillance, he obtained and forwarded to the 
Secretary of War a complete knowledge of the enemy's 
plans and resources, which proved of the utmost value to 
General Grant in his operations. 

At the close of the war, General Viele returned with 
renewed acti\ity to the practice of his profession, his 
work including elaborate plans for the improvement of 
the commercial facilities of New York, for rapid transit, 
both underground and elevated, for cable railways, for 
the opening of the Harlem River to navigation, for the 
sanitary improvement of the metropolis, and for its 
further embellishment by adding to the area and number 
of its parks. He became commissioner and president of 
the board of parks, vice-president of the American Geo- 
graphical Society, was chosen by a very large majority a 
member of Congress, and held a number of other im- 
portant public positions. 

As an author and essayist General Viele has been in- 
defatigable. He has never ceased to be active with his 
pen on a great variety of subjects, literarj', sanitary, and 
scientific. 

To a very thorough acquaintance, from personal obser- 
vation, with the natural resources of this continent he 
has added a fund of information obtained from extensive 
foreign travels, of which he has given the benefit to the 
public in a number of ways. He retains all the restless 
mental and physical energy of his youth, and is still 
actively engaged in large and t*neficent enterprises, 
which will undoubtedly yield similar results to those 
of the previous efforts of his busy life. 



96 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GEORGB B. ROBHRTS. 

One of the most unostentatious, jet one of the most 
useful, of the hving citizens of Philadelphia is the widely- 
known president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 
pany, a position whose importance has icw equals in 
the places of trust and power within the United States. 
Mr. Roberts worked himself up to this high position by 
incessant diligence and superior ahilit\' as a ci\il engineer 
and railroad manager. Born in 1833, on the farm in the 
close vicinity of Philadelphia on which he still resides, 
he received his professional training in the Pol\-technic 
Institute at Troy, New York, and immediately upon grad- 
uating began that life as a railroad man from which he 
has never since deviated. 

His work began upon the mountain division of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, upon u hich he was first em|)loyed 
as a rodman. In 1852, while still but nineteen years of 
age, he was made assistant engineer of the Philadelphia 
and Eric Railroad, and during the ten years that followed , 
was ver>' actively engaged in railroad engineering, aiding I 
in the location and construction of various roads, in- 
cluding the Sunbury and liric, the North Pennsylvania, 
the Western Pennsylvania, the Allentown and Auburn, 1 
the Mahanoy and Hroad Mountain, the West Jersey, and | 
others. On several of these he was employed as chief 
engineer and brought them to completion. 

In 1862, Mr. Roberts, after this decade of varied ser- 
vice, returned to the Pennsylvania Railroad, his official 
position being that of assistant to the president, Mr. J. 
Edgar Thomson. His term of duty in this position 



continued for seven years, during which his skill as an 
engineer and his excellent administrative powers proved 
so serviceable to the road that in 1869 he was promoted 
to the position of fourth vice-president. Almost imme- 
diately afterwards he received a second promotion, being 
elected second vice-president. On June 3, 1874, Colonel 
Thomas A. Scott succeeded J. Edgar Thomson in the 
presidency, and Mr. Roberts was advanced to the post 
of first vice-president. 

In this capacity great interests were confided to his 
care, all engineering questions relating to the construc- 
tion, extension, and improvement of the company's far- 
extended lines coming under his control, in addition to 
which he had the general supervision of the accounts 
through the comptroller. He also assisted the president 
in the management of the \arious roads leased or con- 
trolled by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Colonel Scott 
died in May, 1880, and Mr. Roberts was chosen to suc- 
ceed him as the president of the company, an office to 
which he has since been annually re-elected. This choice 
of the shareholders is not due to any influence exerted 
by ownership of stock, — for Mr. Roberts is not a man of 
great wealth, and has comparatively little financial interest 
in the road, — but is the result of the general recognition 
of his ability and probity, and the well-founded belief by 
the shareholders that his life and powers are unselfishly 
devoted to their interests and the best good of the great 
property which they have placed under his control. 

Mr. Roberts is of W^elsh descent, his ancestors having 
come from Bala in Wales more than two hundred years 
ago. As a memorial of this fact, he has given the name 
of Bala to his ancestral farm, and to the adjoining station 
on the Schuylkill branch of the Penn.sylvania Railroad, 
on the north-western edge of Fairmount Park. It is an 
interesting coincidence that on the \ery day that the first 
Hiitisli train reacheil Hala in Wales, the first American 
train reached Bala in l'enns\lvania. On this farm is an 
humble residence, built bj' Mr. Roberts's ancestors, and 
the most cherished of his possessions. In this house he 
was born, and in this house he still resides, affording a 
remarkable instance of home-staying attachment amid 
the migrator)- impulse of Americans generally. He is 
not a lover of social distractions, and, while giving daily 
attention to the duties of his position at the Philadelphia 
office of the company, he returns every afternoon to his 
home, where, in the enjoyment of his fine lii)iar)- anil in 
leisure strolls o\er his well-tilled fields, he jiasses life in 
a calm enjoyment of books and nature that is riclil}' 
worthy of emulation. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



97 



BRENT GOOD. 

Among the most active business men of New York, 
and particularly among the most successful proprietors 
of patent medicines, is the subject of our present sketch, 
whose skillful and daring management as owner of 
" Carter's Little Li\-cr Pills" has gi\cn him a world-wide 
reputation. 

Mr. Good was born at Rochester, New York, in 1837, 
and was taken by his parents to Canada when two years 
of age, where he was reared on a farm on the Bay of 
Quinte, Ontario. His school life was followed by a term 
of apprenticeship to the drug business at Belleville, 
Ontario, at the end of which, in 1856, he made his 
way to New York City. Here he obtained a situation 
in the establishment of Demas, Barnes & Co., then 
among the largest handlers of proprietary medicines in 
the world. 

Beginning his service here in a subordinate position, 
he quickly gained a place on the staff of traveling men, 
and proved himself so capable that in 1863 he was 
admitted to partnership in the firm. In 1869 the firm 
was dissolved, selling its stock and good-will to John F. 
Henry & Co. Mr. Good now formed the firm of Good, 
Roof & Co., for the importation of wines, in which busi- 
ness he continued till 1878. He retained, however, a 
predilection for his old business, and kept on the lookout 
for some promising opportunity to resume it. This he 
found in 1878, in the valuable pill made and sold by Dr. 
Carter, of Erie, Pennsylvania, who was then doing a 
$10,000 a )-ear business with it. 

Mr. Good purchased an interest, formed the Carter 
Medicine Company, and is its President, Treasurer, and 
General Manager. Their great success, however, has 
not been attained without continued labor, energy, and 
skillful management. For several years Mr. Good con- 
fined his efforts to the United States and Canada, but in 
1886 established a laborator\- in London, and gave our 
British cousins an example of Yankee enterprise which 
they dill not quite relish. Immense posters were dis- 
plaj-ed on prominent walls heralding the virtues of Car- 
ter's Little Liver Pills, fences and stores were covered 
with similar advertisements, and British aesthetic taste 
received such a shock that the prominent newspapers 
broke out into denunciation of this imported American 
way of advertising, while a bill was introduced into 
Parliament to prevent a continuation of this method. 
This action, and the general discussion to which it 
gave rise, advertised the pills still better than the post- 
ers, and the business has now grown in England to a 
permanent paying basis. An excellent business is also 




being done with them in all other English-speaking 
countries. 

Carter's Little Liver Pills, however, is but one of the 
money-making concerns in which Mr. Good is interested. 
In fact, there are few financial schemes in New York in 
which he is not to some extent interested. Yet most 
of his investments have proved profitable. A striking 
example is that of the Writing Telegraph Company. 
This compan}- was formed about six j-ears ago, Mr. Good 
becoming its principal stockholder and its president. It 
was sold out in June, 1892, paying an enormous profit to 
its original stockholders. On the failure of the North 
River Bank in 1890 Mr. Good bought its building, and 
established the Franklin National Bank, now a flourish- 
ing financial institution, of which he is vice-president. 
He is also the owner of the Lyceum Theatre of New 
York, which has proved highly successful under his con- 
trol ; also President Sunbury Wall Decorating Company. 

With all his multifarious business interests to oversee, 
Mr. Good finds abundant time for pleasure. He is a 
member of the New York Athletic Club, the Manhattan 
Club, and the New York Yacht Club, Hardware Club, 
and St. James Club, Montreal, and is a prominent mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity. He is an ardent yachts- 
man and is very fond of gunning and fishing. In fact, 
he owns fifteen lakes and a salmon ri\-er in Canada, 
where he spends a part of each year with a party of 
sport-loving friends. There are few men who get more 
enjoyment out of life than Brent Good, whose time is 
most wisely divided between pleasure and business, and 
whose whole-souled, unselfish nature has surrounded him 
with an army of friends. 



98 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




REYNOLD WEBB WILCOX, M.LX, I,L.l). 

Reynold Webb Wilcox was born at Matlismi, Con- 
necticut, in the year 1856. On his father's side he is 
a descendant of William Wilcoxson, of Stratford, Con- 
necticut, wlio came to this country in 1635, tiuis being 
one of the original settlers of that colon\. Ills father, 
Colonel Vincent Meigs Wilcox, comnianiled the One 
Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment, Tennsj-Kania 
Volunteers, during the late war, and took part with 
them in their severe service during that conflict. His 
mother, Catherine Millicent Webb, traces her ancestry 
to Richard Webb, of Stamford, Connecticut, who emi- 
grated as early as 1626, and was the founder of the well- 
known Connecticut family of that name. Both of his 
grandmothers were of the Meigs famil)-, so prominent 
in colonial history, and which derived its descent from 
Vincent Meigs, of East Guilford (now Madison), Con- 
necticut, who came to Connecticut in 1640. All of his 
ancestry can therefore be traced back to a \er)' earl\' 
period in the history of the Colony of Connecticut. 

Dr. Wilcox was educated at Yale College, by which he 
was graduated with honors as Bachelor of Arts in 1878. 
In 1 88 1 he received the degree of Master of Arts from 
Hobart College, and in the same year that of Doctor of 
Medicine from Harvard University. In 1892 he was 
honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws by Maryvillc 
College. 

During the period in which he was cngagcil in the 
study of medicine at Harvard he served as hou.se-physi- 
cian in the hospitals of Boston. After Jiis graduation 
in medicine he spent fifteen months in medical stuily at 



Vienna, Heidelberg, Paris, and Edinburgh, gaining there 
experience of the utmost value, and upon his return took 
up his residence in New York, where he served his term 
as house-surgeon at the Woman's Hospital. In 1884 he 
was appointed a clinical assistant at the New York Po.st- 
GraiUiate Medical School and Hospital, in 1S86 an in- 
structor in the same institution, and in 18S9 he was 
chosen its Professor of Clinical Medicine and Therapeu- 
tics. As a teacher of practicing physicians he is well and 
favorably known for his e.xtensixe practical experience, 
broad scholarship, and scientific enthusiasuL His .service 
at the North-ICastern and Dcmilt Dispensaries and in the 
wards of Belle\ue and St. Mark's Hospitals has been 
utilized, not only for his personal study, but as well for 
the instruction of the profession at large. 

Dr. Wilco.x is a frequent speaker at the various medi- 
cal organizations of which he is a member, — the American 
and the New York Academies of Medicine, and the Clin- 
ical, Count)-, State, Lenox, and Harvard Medical Socie- 
ties. Of the last he has been president. Lie has been a 
prolific writer u[)()ii nuilical and therapeutical subjects, 
having publishetl more than one hundred and fifty papers, 
most of which have been translated into French and 
German and have been extensively quoted in the Ameri- 
can journals. For several years he has been the thera- 
peutic editor of the Ai)icricait Jounuxl of ihc Medical 
Sciences, and he is also the American editor of White's 
" Matiria Medica anil Lherapeutics," a te.xt-book of six 
hundred and fift\- pages, now in its second eiiition, and 
which has been adojjted as the te.xt-book in the leading 
medical schools. Notwithstanding the demands made 
upon his time by an extensive private practice, and by 
his duties as a professor of medicine, he has found the 
opportunit)' to write a genealogical work entitled " I'he 
Descendants of William Wilcoxson, \'iiici.iU Meigs, and 
Richard Webb." 

Dr. Wilcox docs not confine himself entirel)' to the 
demands of the medical profession, but is fietiuentlj' 
sought for as a speaker before the various [jatriotic and 
scientific societies in whose purposes and labors he takes 
a warm interest, and to many of which he belongs. He 
is a member of the Societies of the Colonial Wars, Sons 
of the Revolution, War of 1812, Military Order of the 
Loyal Legion, War of the Union, and Sons of Veterans. 
Of the last he has been Surgeon-General. He is also a 
member of the Manhattan and the Harvard Clubs. Asa 
physician in active practice, as a teacher of medical prac- 
titioners, as a writer upon medical and patriotic subjects, 
Dr. Wilcox, young as he still is, has already obtained an 
enviable reputation. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



99 



A. A. MARKS. 

A. A. Marks was born in Waterbur}% Connecticut, 
April 3, 1825, of a family which had long been prominent 
in that State, his ancestors embracing the Tuttles, Tolles, 
Ives, Coopers, and Eatons, persons who have largely 
made the history of New England. 

The subject of our sketch passed his early life on his 
father's farm in Connecticut. Prior to his attaining his 
majority, and by the consent of his parents, he left the 
paternal roof and wandered in search of fame and fortune 
to the city of New York, where he engaged in various 
enterprises which met with indifferent successes. His 
persistence and indomitable will, however, led him to 
other endea\ors, and at length to that success which 
persistent energy rareh' fails to bring. 

About the \'ear 1850 his sympathies were aroused by 
the spectacle of the large number of cripples who were 
at that period so conspicuous in all large cities, before 
prothetical science had reached its present stage of devel- 
opment. Many more cripples were then seen hobbling 
about on crutches and crude makeshifts than are now to 
be seen in our streets, and, moved by a humanitarian 
impulse, Mr. Marks turned his attention to the devising 
of means that might ameliorate the conditions of those 
unfortunate persons. He in\entcd an artificial leg which 
was quite different from the heavy, noisy, and expen- 
sive article obtainable at that time, antl likely to be far 
more comfortable to the wearer. Ha\'ing met with suc- 
cess in his first efforts, he was encouraged to persevere, 
and established himself as a manufacturer of artificial 
limbs in 1853. Experiment and stud}- led him to dis- 
coveries and inventions which in a verj' short time 
brought him prominently before the ]iublic and gave 
him a high reputation in his new line of e.xertion. The 
invention of the rubber foot, the adjustable knee-joint, 
the rubber hand with ductile fingers, are the fruits of 
his thought and experiment: and, through his enter- 
prising methods, his artificial limbs have become intro- 
duced into every country on the face of the earth, and 
his name is now synonymous with the science of pro- 
thesis. Governments, corporations, hospitals, and so- 
cieties have not been slow in recognizing his talent and 
in adopting his productions. In 1864 he received the 
United States government contract to furnish artificial 
limbs to the dismembered soldiers and sailors of the 
rebellion, and has since held a perpetual contract to 
renew the limbs as often as the subjects require them. 
The American Institute in its palmiest days acknowl- 
edged Mr. Marks as the authority in his profession, and 
successive expositions have awarded him first premiums, 
medals, and diplomas. The Franklin Institute has like- 
wise awarded to him its medals in recojrnition of his in- 




ventive skill, anil the public press has often presented his 
achievements to the public with glowing encomiums. 

The Marks establishment has been a landmark in New 
York City for nearly half a century, and has attracted 
thither many distinguished persons of foreign lands. 
Santa i\na, the Mexican warrior, made his first visit to 
New York for the ]iur]iose of having Mr. Marks replace 
by art the leg which he had lost in 1838 during the 
French assault upon Vera Cruz. General Larranaga, the 
Peruvian revolutionist, Iglasius, son of the President of 
Peru, and Okuma, the Japanese count, arc some of the 
world's distinguished men who have been able to appre- 
ciate the productions of this firm. Mr. Marks has indeed 
made an impression on the metropolis, and has added 
the industry of prothesis to the many which New York 
claims as its own, a distinction which has been awarded 
to it b}' the approval of the world. 

In 1850 he was married to Miss Lucy Piatt, daughter 
of Charles Piatt, a citizen of New York. Seven children 
have been the result of that union, four of whom sur- 
vive, — Rev. Charles A. Marks, an Episcopal clergyman 
located in Pennsylvania, George E. and William L. Marks, 
who are in partnership with their father, and Miss Anna 
Marks, who remains a companion to her father. 

In 1870, Mr. Marks moved his residence to Greenwich, 
Connecticut, where he procured a site on Long Island 
Sound, on which he built a large and commodious 
country residence, surrounded by ample groves and 
attracti\e adornments. The influence of his personality 
was soon felt in Greenwich, where he interested himself 
in man\' public enterprises. Personally, he is a man of 
strong character, an indefatigable wprker, sincere in his 
intentions, progressive and impressive. 



lOO 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HERMAN TAPPAN. 

Herman Tappan was born in Gloucester, Massachu- 
setts, and spent his boyhood among the shipping and in 
the hcaltliful atmosphere of tliat famous old nautical port. 
He received his education in New England schools and 
colleges, but turned iiis attention to mercantile pursuits 
early in life, and with an energy and ambition that were 
an assurance of success. He came to New York in 1876, 
in which city he purchased an interest in a comparatively 
small but well-established manufacturing perfumery busi- 
ness at No. 65 Duane Street. He had, through his con- 
nection with other mercantile enterprises, already accu- 
mulated a moderate capital, which he invested in this 
new business, and with which he went enthusiastically 
to work to build up and extend the trade already es- 
tablished b_\- the establishment, lieing possessed of keen 
business enterprise and excellent judgment, and ha\'ing 
already gained a valuable acquaintance with mercantile 
affairs, he set himself to learn the wants of the trade 
in the new business which he had adventured, and to 
meet them in every direction and detail. His success, 
however, was largely due to the continual introduction 
of novelties in ])crfumer\', most of which proved pleas- 
ant surprises to the trade, and commanded a ready and 
Ijrofitable market. 

The business, largely in consequence of the successive 
introduction of such new goods and their success upon 
the market, soon outgrew its original t|uarters, antl the 
firm removed to 112 and 114 Duane Street, leasing a 
building which ran through the block to Readc Street, 
with a floor space of forty tlKJUsand square feet. It thus 
constituted the most extensive establishment devoted to 
the manufacture of i^erfumcry in this country. In these 
new quarters the firm, incited b)' the ra|)id increase of 
orders from all parts of the country, steadily extended 



its business, until its trade eclipsed anything previously 
accomplished in this special line of perfumery, the growth 
of the manufacturing facilities being an annual surprise 
to the buyers who visited the establishment for the pur- 
pose of placing their orders. 

The firm had hitherto borne the name of Corning & 
Tappan, but in 1880 Mr. Tappan purchased the interest 
of his partner, and has since conducted the business 
alone. With his four years' experience, the abundant 
capital he had accumulated, a firm faith in the future 
of the business, and boundless energ}' and enterprise, 
he started on a career which has proved one of great 
success. Confining himself to the jobbing trade, an- 
ticipating and sujiplying the wants of the market before 
they had been clearly formulated, providing for each 
season's trade attractive no\-elties in perfumery to offer 
the buj'crs at their periotlical \isits, he has built up a 
business which exceeds, in the number of gross of goods 
sold, the sales of any house of its kind in the world, 
while his name is familiar in conection with this line of 
trade wherever perfumeries are sold or used. 

Among the numerous original productions which he 
has offered to the world may particularly be mentioned 
the popular perfume named " Sweet Bye and Bye," 
which, immediately upon its introduction, met with the 
highest public favor, and has increased in popularity 
with every year of its existence, until at the present 
time it has unquestionabK- the largest sale of any hand- 
kerchief perfume yet produced. 

Mr. Tappan is .still a young man, and although he 
has, b\- perseverance, energy, and ability, built up the 
largest existing business in his special field, his ambition 
is still far from satisfied, and he is steadily extending and 
increasing the demand for his goods, by supjilying the 
trade with a class of perfumeries sure to be wanted b\' 
the pulilic and not to be procured elsewhere. 

Notwitiistantiing the demands made upon him jj)- his 
large manufacturing business, and the labor and clo.se 
attention which this requires, I\Ir. Tappan has found 
leisure to identify himself with other business interests 
and financial enterprises both in New York and el.se- 
where. He also takes a keen and intelligent interest in 
public matters, and is thoroughly in touch with all efforts 
for the betterment of municipal affairs and the advance- 
ment of national interests. 

He does not, however, court publicity, nor seek public 
or official favors, preferring to devote all his time and 
attention to the business which is due to his unflagging 
industry and persistent and aggressive business enter- 
prise. In this line of manufacture and trade, as has 
already been .saitl, he has attained the first rank, and 
become the recogniz.ed leader in that branch of the 
perfumer)' business which he originated and which he 
has built up to its present large dimensions. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



lot 



CORNELIUS VANDERBILT. 

Cornelius Vanderisilt, who shared witli John Jacob 
Aster the credit of being the first great New York capi- 
talist, was born at Stapleton, Staten Island, New York, 
on May 29, 1794. Like many men destined to fortune, 
he began life in \'ery humble circumstances and received 
little education, though nature had furnished him with a 
financial genius of the very highest grade. His business 
life began at the age of sixteen, when he purchased a 
boat for the purpose of conveying farm products to the 
markets of New York. In this, his first step of enter- 
prise, he had measurable success, and found himself at 
the age of twent}'-three possessed of a capital of about 
$ 1 0,000. 

His next business movement was as a steamboat 
captain, his boat plying between New York and New 
Brunswick, in which latter city his wife added her share 
to the family enterprise by keeping a hotel. He remained 
thus engaged until 1829, on a salary of ;$iooo yearly, 
and in this period increased his employer's business till it 
was valued at $40,000 a year. By this time the coming 
millionaire had saved about $30,000, and refusing the 
offers of his employer, Mr. Gibbons, to continue his cap- 
taincy at a .salary of $5000 yearl\-, he engaged in the 
business of building steamboats to run on the Hudson, 
Long Island Sound, and other neighboring waters. It 
was from this vocation that he gained the title of 
" Commodore," which afterwards clung to him. 

Vanderbilt was a man destitute of education, but pos- 
sessed of an enterprise, daring, and persistence which 
could hard!}- fail to bring him success. He was true to 
his word and had a rough sense of honor, but was 
unmerciful to competitors. About 1848, when he was 
ahead)- fift\--four \ears of age, he began to extend his 
operations, having b\' this time accumulated a considera- 
ble capital. An important step was taken in 1851, when 
he started a line of vessels to San Francisco by way of 
the Isthmus, to which in 1852 was added a branch to 
New Orleans. The ne.xt year he went abroad with his 
family in one of his own vessels, and during his absence 
was dropped from the management of the California 
routes. The directors did not properly estimate the 
character of the man with whom they had to deal. His 
step of revenge was prompt and effective. He built and 
established a rival line, and in no long time the other was 
obliged to come to terms. The " Commodore" had won 
the command of the situation. He established a line also 
to Havre, which continued to run till the beginning of 
the civil war, when it was withdrawn. The " Vander- 
bilt" of this line, which had cost 58oo,000, he generousl}' 
presented to the government, — his chief act of generosit}- 
to the Efovernment durinLT the war. 




During the years mentioned, and those succeeding, 
the Vanderbilt fortune grew with unexampled rapidity. 
At seventy he was possessed of a fortune estimated at 
$40,000,000, much of it invested in railroads, to which he 
had turned his attention as a useful addition to his ship- 
ping interests. From this time onward he concentrated his 
attention on railroad propert}-, acquiring control of the 
Harlem Railroad, and branching out from that as a centre 
of operations. His onl\- mistake in this development of 
his enterprises was his attempt to gain control of the 
Erie, in which he found Fisk and Gould ready to issue as 
many shares of stock as he was prepared to buy. Re- 
tiring from this unprofitable enterprise, he established 
the New York Central system, which he added to and 
extended till by 1873 he had under his management two 
thousand miles of railroad track. He was in this way 
the originator of trunk lines in the L^nited States. 

In 1869 his statue, with emblematic surroundings, was 
erected over the New York station of the Hudson Ri\er 
Railroad. He continued to extend his railroad connec- 
tions till 1877, on January 4 of which year he died, with 
a reputed fortune of $100,000,000. 

During his life his recreation was principally found in 
whist and in the driving of fast horses, so far as he found 
time to turn from the one great business and pleasure of 
his existence, that of money-making. In 1 873 he endowed 
the collegiate institution at Nashville, since known as the 
Vanderbilt University, with $700,000, and presented a 
church to Dr. C. F. Deems for the " Church of the 
Strangers." 

The bulk of his great fortune was left to his son, 
William H, Vanderbilt, in whose hands it continued to 
increase until, at his death in 1885,, it was estimated at 
the vast sum of about $200,000,000. 



14 



I02 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




MORDECAI M. NOAH. 

MoRDECAi Manuel Noah, an American author and 
journalist, was born in Philadclpliia, July 14, 1785, of 
Jewish parents, his father, Manuel M. Noah, being a 
native of Charleston, South Carolina, his mother a mem- 
ber of the well-known Phillips family of Philadelphia. 
General Washington, a strong friend of this family, was 
present at the marriage of his parents. 

In early manhood he returned to Charleston, South 
Carolina, where he studied law and was ailmitted to the 
bar; engaged actively in politics; and in 1810 became 
the editor of The City Gazette. In 181 1 he was offered 
by President Madison the position of consul at Riga, the 
largest commercial port of Russia. This appointment he 
declined. In 1 8 1 3 he was commissioned as a special rep- 
resentative of the United States to the Barbary States and 
resident consul at Tunis, being also empowered to nego- 
tiate for the ransom of a number of American sailors held 
as slaves by the Algerines. On his way thither the ves.sel 
in which he sailed was captured by a Hritish man-of-war. 
He was held [jrisoncron parole for several months, during 
which he visited London and other English cities. After 
his release he proceeded to his destination by way of 
France and Spain, making many valuable observations 
in these countries, as also in Tunis, during his period 
of residence there. These, six years afterwards, he cm- 
bodied in a highly interesting work entitled " Travels in 
England, I'rance, Spain, and the Barbary States in the 
Years 181 3-1 5," a book of excellent description of the 
antiquities, manners, and customs of the countries visited. 

On his return from his diplomatic mission he settled in 
New York in 1816, where he passed the remainder of 
his life in journalistic labors. I lis first essay in this 
field of duty was as editor of The iV/it/ofiti/ Advocate, a 
Democratic daily, then the organ of Tammany Hall. 



His editorial work on this journal continued for nearly 
ten years, at the end of which time he established a 
paper of his own called the Enquirer. This paper sub- 
sequently united with the Courier under the joint name 
of Tlic Courier and Enqinrer, a journal which afterwards 
became The Neiu Yoi-k World. The present status of 
The 11 'or /d need not be mentioned. 

Major Noah — ^which militan- title he derixed from a 
commission in the Pcnnsyhania State militia — made his 
ne.\t \-enture in journalism in 1834, in the publication of 
the Evening Star, a journal which, after attaining a large 
circulation, was merged in what is now known as the 
Covunercial Advertiser. He sold this sheet principally to 
accept an appointment tendered him by Governor Seward, 
as associate judge of the New York Court of Sessions, 
a position which, in the opinion of Chief Justice Daly, he 
was specially qualified to fill, for the reason that while 
he was "an experienced man nf the world, he was at the 
same time, at heart, one of the kindest and most benev- 
olent of men," — qualities particularly important in the 
office of a criminal judge. 

He continued in this office until, under the amended 
Constitution, it became elective. In 1842 he started a 
paper called Tlie Union, and a year afterwards became 
chief editor of the New York Sun, with which journal he 
remained connected until the end of his acti\-e journalistic 
life. 

Other journalistic ventures of Major Noah were the 
Sunday Times (founded in 1834), and the IWekly Mes- 
senger (1844), the two eventualh- becoming combinetl 
as Noah's Times and Wee/c/y Messenger. It is still pub- 
lished. 

In 1822, Major Noah was elected and served a term as 
" high sheriff" of New York, and in 1829 was appointed 
by President Jackson, surveyor of the port of New York. 
During his journalistic life he devoted much attention to 
literature, his works including, in addition to the one 
mentioned, " Gleanings from a Gathered Harvest" and 
"A Translation of the Book of Jasher," together with a 
considerable number of jiatriotic ilramas, all of w iiicli had 
marked success. His pla\' " The W.uuk ring Boys" still 
holds the stage, both in this countrj- and in England. 
Among his intimate literary friends were Fitz-Greene 
Halleck, Washington Irving, Rufus W. Griswold, Evert 
A. Duyckinck, Edgar Allan Poe, Cornelius Matthews, 
William CuUen Bryant, James Fenimore Cooper, Park 
Benjamin, Horace Greeley, N. P. Willis, and George P. 
Morris, the last of win mi has left a highly eulogistic 
opinion of his literary ability, wit, social j^owers, and 
geniality of character. We may sa\', in conclusion, that 
Major Noah was the most persistent advocate of the 
establishment of Central Park, and it was largel)' due to 
his pertinacity that New York now possesses this splendid 
pleasure-ground. Me died in New York, March 22, 1 85 1. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



103 



GENERAL JAMES GRANT WILSON. 

Brevet Brigadiek-Genekal James Grant Wilson, 
prominent among tlic young cavalry officers wlio per- 
formed gallant .ser\ice in the late war, is a son of the 
poet-publisher, William Wilson, of Poughkccpsie, New 
York, a kinsman of James Wilson, of I'ennsylvania. one 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. After 
completing his studies he traveled in Europe with ex- 
President Fillmore, and later he was for a time associated 
with his father in business. Before the war he established 
in Chicago the first literaiy journal in the Northwest. In 
1862 he raised a battalion, of which he was commissioned 
major, that formed a part of the Fifteentii Illinois Cavalry, 
Colonel Warren Stewart, which saw much active service 
in tlie Mississippi Valle\-. 

By the death of Stewart, Major Wilson became com- 
mander of the regiment, taking part in many battles, 
and constantly skirmishing with the Confederates. He 
was acti\'e in the Vicksburg campaign, frequenth' scout- 
ing in the direction of the enemj' with a \iew to sending 
in intelligence of their expected advance to break up the 
siege. In August, 1863, he accompanied Grant to New 
Orleans, and there accepted the colonelcy of the Fourth 
Regiment, U. S. C. Cavalry, and was assigned to duty 
as aide-de-camp to the commanding general of the De- 
partment of the Gulf, with whom he remained till May, 
1865, taking part in the Teche, Texas, and Red River 
campaigns, and in the latter aiding Bailey in the con- 
struction of the Red River Dam, which saved Porter's 
squatlron. When General Banks was relieved. Colonel 
Wilson was brevettcd brigadier-general and sent to Port 
Hudson, where, for a time, he was in commaiul. He 
was military agent in Louisiana of the State of New 
York for nearly two years. 

In July he resigned, declining the offer of a commission 
in the regular army, and returned to New York City, 
where he has since resided, pursuing a literary career, 
with the exception of several years spent with iiis family 
in foreign travel. In 1879 he was appointed by the 
President a member of the Board of Visitors to the 
United States Naval Academ\-, and the following year 
he was a visitor to the Military Acadeni}- at West Point, 
delivering the address to the cadets and preparing the 
reports of both boards. Since 1885 he lias been presi- 
dent of the New York Genealogical and Biographical 
Society, is a vice-president of the Association for the 
Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations, a mem- 
ber of the executive committee of the Society for the 
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and president of the 
American Authors' Guild. He is a member of the 
Loyal Legion, Museum of Art, New York Historical 
and Geographical Societies, one of the trustees of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church Fimd (now being raised) 
of one million dollars, and an honorary member of many 




American and foreign historical and other associations, 
and he has received the degrees of D.C.L. and LL.D. 
General Wilson was instrumental in raising an obelisk 
over the grave of Fitz-Greene Halleck and a statue in 
Central Park, and also in erecting the noble statue of 
Columbus, unveiled in May, 1894, in the Central Park, 
for which he was knighted by the king of Spain. He 
has published numerous addresses, including those on 
Millard Fillmore, "The Footprints of Columbus," Bishop 
Provoost, " The Authors of New York," and one on Mrs. 
Wilson's ancestor. Colonel John Bayard, and contributed 
upwards of a hundred historical and biitgraphical articles 
to Harper s and other American magazines. 

Among the principal works which General Wilson has 
written or edited are Lives of General Grant, 1866 and 
189s ; "Life of Fitz-Greene Halleck," 1869; "Sketches 
of Illustrious Soldiers," 1874; "The Poets and Poetry of 
Scotland" (2 vols. Svo, London and New York), 1876; 
"Centennial History of the Diocese of New York, 1785- 
1886;" "Bryant and his P^riends," 1886; " Appletons' 
Cyclopaedia of American Biography" (6 vols. 8vo, 1886- 
1889); "Personal Recollections of the Rebellion," 1891 ; 
" Memorial History of the City of New York" (4 vols. 
royal 8vo, 1892-1893); "The Presidents of the United 
States," 8vo, 1894; and "The World's Largest Libraries," 
189s; and he is now editing the "Great Commanders 
Series," of which twelve biographies have appeared. 

Colonel Halpine wrote of General Wilson in 1867: 
" A handsome young general of about thirty, with his 
blue eyes and fair hair, suggestive of his gallant friends. 
Gushing and Custer. With the daintest hand, always 
neatly gloved with ladies' ' sevens,' Wilson has the grip 
of a vise, with equal skill in wieWing sabre, pen, and 
pencil, or in bringing down game with rod and rifle, and 
is a charming raconteur'^ 



-I04 



MAKERS OF .VEW YORK. 




JAMES HARPER. 

James Harper, wlio for more than fifty years was 
senior member of the great publishing house of Harper 
& Brothers, was born at Newtown, Long Island, April 13, 
1795, being the son of Joseph Harper, a farmer of that 
locality. His grandfather, a schoolmaster by profession, 
who had come from luigland about the middle of the 
eighteenth century, and settled on a farm at Newtown, 
afterwards kept a grocery store for many years in New 
York. His son Joseph, who learned the trade of car- 
penter, became afterwards a farmer, married Elizabeth 
Kolycr, the daughter of a Dutch farmer, and had six 
children, two of whom died in infancy. The remaining 
four became the members of the subsequent firm of 
Harper & Brothers. 

James Harper, the oldest son, sjient his early life on 
the farm, obtaining such education as the village school 
afforded, and at the age of sixteen was ajjprenticed to a 
printer in New York. He was strictly temperate, in- 
dustrious, and faithful to his emplo)-ers, and by close 
economy, aided by overwork, managed to save a small 
sum from his modest wages. This, added to a similar 
sum saved by his brother John, who also studied print- 
ing, and augmented by a contribution of a few hundred 
dollars from their father, enabled the two brothers in 
1817 to establish a small i)rinting-officc of llieir own. 
This was in Water Street, New York, the firm-name 
adopted being J. & J. Harper. The first book printed 
by them was an edition of Seneca's *' Morals,"' of which, 
in August, iS 17, they delivered two thousand co[)ies to 
Evert Duyckinck, then a leading bookseller of the city. 
This was followed in December by two thousand five 
hundred copies of Mair's " Introduction to Latin," printed 
for and delivered to the same firm. The first book which 
bore their own imprint was issueil in April, 18 18, being a 



reproduction of Locke's " Essay on the Human Under- 
standing," of which five hundreti copies were sold to 
Mr. Duj'ckinck. 

They early commenced the issuing of serial publica- 
tions, one of the most notable of these, at an early date, 
being " Harper's Famil)- Library," which was continued 
till it embraced several hundred \'olimies of the choicest 
modern no\els. At a subsequent date the two younger 
brothers, who had also served aijprenticeships to the print- 
ing trade, were admitted to membership in the firm, and 
in 1833 the firm-name was changed to Harper & Brothers, 
undei- which title the house has since been known. 

The increase in the business of the firm rendered 
necessary a larger building, and a removal was made 
to 81 and 82 Cliff .Street, where, b_\- 1 840. the printing, 
binding, and publishing departments occupied se\'eral 
buiklings, on both siiles of the street, three of them 
having formerh- been dwelling-houses. To these, in 
1850, was added a large edifice on Franklin Square, 
in Pearl Street, running back to the Cliff Street build- 
ings. None of these buildings were fire-proof, and the 
new edifice had been occupied but a short time when the 
establishment took fire and was burned to the ground, 
the firm suffering a loss of full\- a million dollars, on 
which was a little insurance. The energetic brothers, 
not visibly downcast b)' this disaster, at once set to work 
to rebuild. The magazine, the January number of \\ hich 
had been destroyed, was issued with little dela\', ami the 
old structure was with no great loss of time rei)lacetl 
with a fire-proof building, which remains the head- 
quarters of the firm. 

James Harper never lost his self-possession during this 
disaster and the hurry and confusion that followed it. 
As a business man he was always early at his post, 
steadiK" cheerful, genial, aiul courteous, and ever ready 
with a kind word, a pleasant jest or repartee, and judi- 
cious counsel when needeil. In 1844 he reluctantly 
consentetl to serve as mayor of New York, but coukl 
never afterwards be drawn into political life, saying, " I 
prefer to stick to a business I understand.' He was 
always in great request as a presiding officer, which 
position he filled with dignit)' and abilit)'. He was 
rigidly temperate, and closely identified with temperance 
movements; was strictl)' religious, being a jirominent 
member of the Methodist Church ; and was active in 
benevolent enterprises. His health continued excellent, 
he seeming much younger than he reall)' was, and death 
came to him at liiigth by an accident. While dri\ ing 
with his daughter in the u|)per part of the cit)', the car- 
riage-pole broke, the frightened horses ran away, anil 
the)- were both thrown violently from the carriage. He 
was taken up insensible and carried to St. Luke's Hos- 
pital, where he lay for two days, and died without regain- 
ing con.sciousness on March 17, 1869. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



105 



JOHN HARPER. 

John Harper, the second member of tlie publishing 
firm of Harper & Brothers, was born at Newtown, Long 
Island, on January 22, 1797. His boyish days were spent 
on his father's farm and in attendance on the village 
school, until he attained the age of sixteen, when, like 
his elder brother, he was apprenticed to the printer's trade 
in New York Citv, different emploj'ers being chosen for 
the two boys. As an apprentice he exhibited the same 
diligence and economy as his brother James, and in his 
twenty-first year joined the latter in establishing a small 
printing business on Water Street, their small savings 
being added to by financial aid received from their 
father. In the new business he became an exact com- 
positor and accurate proof-reader, and added much 
to the reputation of the firm by his skill in these par- 
ticulars. 

The new firm was one marked by that industr\- which 
commands success. The two brothers did the greater 
part of the work themselves, setting type and running 
the presses as well as attending to the purely commercial 
side of the enterprise. In tliose days onl_\' hand-presses 
were used, and the magical performance of modern 
presses was not yet dreamed of. It was considered the 
best work of a good pressman to print two thousand five 
hundred sheets in a day. Yet, despite this slow process, 
the energetic youths just out of their apprenticeship 
printed during their first year not less than five bound 
volumes. The first book with the Harper imprint on its 
title-page was issued in the succeeding year, this being 
Locke's " Essay on the Human Understanding." Since 
then not a year has passed without the publication b\- the 
firm of a considerable number of volumes. To-day the 
two thousand five hundred sheets per day of the old 
luuul-presses have increased to two hundred and forty 
thousand sheets a day on the modern perfecting presses, 
and the five books printed during the first year have aug- 
mented to about seventy-five new works annually, besides 
more than twenty numbers of the " Franklin Square 
Libraiy of Fiction," twelve numbers o{ Harper's Monthly 
Magas!>n\ and fifty-two numbers each of Harper s 
Weekly, Harper's Bazaar, and Harper s Young People. 
These four periodicals contain as much matter yearly as 
nearly two hundred good-sized books, so that the total 
annual publication of the house is equivalent to little 
short of three hundred separate and distinct new books. 
Originall}' the firm occupied a small two-story brick 
building, all the work being done by the partners and 
two or three assistants. Now the buildings occupy the 
better part of a city block, and the employes would make 
a small arm}'. 

In 1839, when the growth of the firm's business ren- 
dered it requisite to give each member charge of some 
special department, John Harper accepted that of financial 




manager, and during the remainder of his life attended to 
this portion of the firm's business. In 1853, after the 
destruction of the establishment b\' fire, he came earnestly 
to the aid of his brothers in the emergency, personally 
planning and designing all parts of the present fire-proof 
buildings. It becomes, therefore, of interest in this place 
to say something about the edifice erected in accordance 
with his designs. 

The main establishment, thus erected, occupies a plot 
of ground extending from Pearl to Cliff Street, it ha\ ing 
a frontage on each street of about one hundred and 
twenty feet, and a depth of one hundred and seventy feet, 
the area covered being about half an acre. There are 
two buildings, one fronting on each street, witli an open 
court-}'ard between them. The Franklin Square building 
is used maiiil)- for offices and store-rooms. It is five 
stories high above the street level, the front being of iron, 
with ornamental columns, the side and rear walls of brick 
and stone. There are two subterranean stories, the 
lower one forming a series of \aults, with massi\e walls 
and arches, within which are stored the numerous and 
costly electrot}-pe plates of the firm. The stereotype 
plates possessed by the firm in 1853 were in great part 
rescued from the fire.^being stored in similar fire-proof 
vaults, and the firm possesses a property of immense 
\\Tlue in these plates. The rear building, that on Cliff 
Street, is used principally for manufacturing purposes, 
while the press-rooms, mailing department, offices, sales- 
rooms, and stock-rooms are in the Franklin Square 
building. 

After the death of his two brothers, James and Wesley, 
John retired from active duties in the business, the heavy 
responsibility of the finances being Aanded over to the 
younger members of the firm. He died April 22, 1875, 
in the seventy-ninth year of his age. 



io6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOSEPH WESLEY HARPER. 

Josiirii \\i:-i.EV IIakpek — coninioiil)- known !)}• his 
midcile name of Wesley— tlic third member of the 
orij^inal firm of Harper & Brothers, was born at New- 
town, Lon^ Island, December 25, 1801. His early life 
was a copy of that of his brothers already described, 
and like them, on attainint^ the proper aye, he was ap- 
prenticed to the printer's trade in New York City, the 
father having apparently chosen that as the future avo- 
cation of all his sons. After lie became of age, in 1822, 
he entered the establishment of his brothers, founded 
five years before, and now in a flourishing condition. 
Here he worked for a time as journeyman printer, but 
was soon promoted to the positions of foreman and 
proof-reader of the composing room. He hail a thor- 
ough knowledge of the business, and a veteran [jrinter 
who served under him has said that he was the best 
fiireman he ever saw. 

A period of duty in this jiosition was followed by 
admission to membership in the firm, to which his 
younger brother, Fletcher, was also admitted, tile busi- 
ness, liowever, continuing to be conducted under the 
firm-name of J. & J. Harper until 1833, when the ex- 
isting title of Harper & Hrothers was adopted. 

As the business increased, and the duties of the es- 
tablishment became varied and onerous, each brother 
assumed charge of a special department, Wesley taking 
that of literary correspondent. The duties of this de- 
partment, with the rapidly expanding business of the 
firm, and the host of authors with wliich it was in com- 
munication, were arduous and delicate. Authors are 
often of peculiar temperament, and many of them af- 
flicted witii the malady of "great expectations," rarelj- 
likely to be realized. To deal with many of them de- 
mands special qualities in a correspondent, including 



great delicacy, courtesy, and judgment, to avoid giving 
offense to persons frequently of very sensitive temper- 
ament. These necessary qualities Wesley Harper pos- 
sessed in unusual development. He was always courte- 
ous and thoughtful of the feelings of others, and during 
the forty \'cars in which he continued in charge of this 
department tiierc is no reason to believe that he ever 
made an enemy among his correspondents. In the case 
of those who visited him personally he was equally kind 
and considerate, so much so that all felt towards him 
as to a personal friend, and among the thousands of 
acquaintances formed by him during his business life 
the sentiment of respect and friendliness seems to have 
been universal. 

By his familiarit)- with books of every variety and 
his frequent intercourse with eminent scholars, Wesle\- 
Harper iDccame himself a man of excellent information 
and culture. He iiad acquired fixed and well-considered 
views, but was always modest in expressing them, never 
forcing his opinions — though decided and the results 
of his own thouglitfulnes.s — upon the attention of his 
visitors. Tiie department of the business which fell 
under liis care was, as has been said, one of the highest 
importance. It must be borne in mind that the relations 
to authors of a great publishing house, like that of Har- 
per & Brothers, is by no means to be measured bj' the 
number of volumes issued annually. The authors of 
these it is comparatively easy to deal with, — except in 
the annoying case, of frequent occurrence, in which the 
sale of their books falls far below their expectations. 
But for every autJioi' whose manuscript is accepted there 
is a considerable number whose manuscripts have to be 
declined, for \arious reasons, of which that of lack of 
scholarship and ability does not always stand first. The 
publisher has to consider readers as well as writers, and 
jutlge of the selling qualities of a book rather than of its 
intrinsic merits, many works of great value in tiieir sub- 
ject-matter being inadmissible from defects of manner, or 
non-adaptation to the ]irobable tastes of the world of 
readers. These remarks will suffice to indicate tiiat the 
office of correspondent with authors is no sinecure, if it 
is desired to avoid misapprehension and offence. A 
kindly mind goes far in producing plea.sant results, and 
it was to his native kindness of disposition that Wesley 
Harper owed his long-continued agreeable relations with 
the correspondents of the house. 

In his later \-ears his health slowly failed, he being 
obliged to call in his son to ills aiii, and eventually to 
place the correspondence largely in his hands. He was 
seriously affected by the sudden death of his brother 
James, the accident giving him a mental shock Uom 
which he never fully recovered. February 14, 1S70, he 
died, less than a )-ear after the death of the brother he 
mourned. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



107 



FLETCHER HARPER. 

Fletcher Harpek, the youngest member of the 
original firm of Harper & Brothers, was, in common with 
his brothers, born in the paternal farm-house, at New- 
town, Long Island, the year of his birth being 1806. 
Like the others, Fletcher was sent to New York to learn 
the printing business, his education, like theirs, having 
been confined to that obtainable at the Newtown village 
school. His older brothers, James and John, were, at 
the date of the beginning of his apprenticeship, engaged 
in the publishing business in New York, and had fairly 
entered upon that career of prosperity which was eventu- 
alh' to become so great. On the completion of his term 
(if apprenticeship, in 1825, he was admitted to member- 
ship in the firm, then known as J. & J. Harper, the present 
title being assumed in 1833. He succeeded his brother 
Wesley as foreman of the composing room, a position 
which he retained for years, while at the same time 
gradually taking charge of the literary department, which 
in the end came completely under his control. The idea 
of establishing a magazine originated with James Harper, 
though the management of it fell largely into the hands 
of the youngest member of the firm. Fletcher, how- 
ever, originated the Weekly and the Bazaar, and during 
his later life took a special interest in the periodical 
publications of the house, exercising over them a close 
and intelligent supervision, directed alike to their typo- 
graphical appearance and their literary and pictorial 
excellence. 

In the establishment and conduct of their various peri- 
odicals the Harpers have, perhaps, done their most inter- 
esting work. Each of these has, from its inception, con- 
tinued in the first rank of its kintl, and a study of the 
man\- volumes issued is a valuable lesson in the progress 
that has been made in this country in literature and the 
arts of printing and illustration. Of these periodicals, 
the first to be established was Harper's Xc%v Moiitlily 
Magazine. The first number of this appeared in 1850, 
and was then regarded as a model of enterprise, as 
compared witii the magazine literature that preceded it, 
though if the early numbers be compared with those of 
the present day the degree of improvement will be seen 
to be remarkable. Yet there has been no sudden chance. 
The march of improvement has been so gradual and 
continuous as to be hardly perceptible between any two 
numbers, and has kept pace with the general growth 
wliich has taken place in all the details of the tyjjograph- 
ical art and illustration, and the ad\ance in literary excel- 
lence in this country during the past half-century. To 
.■\merican skill and ingenuit}- the world owes most of 
the improvements that have been made in the mechanical 
details of the printer's profession, and the four original 
members of the firm of Harper & Brothers had much to 
do with stimulating those steps of progress which they 




r. 5^^f 




lived long enough to see and of which to avail them- 
selves. A singular coincidence, worth noting here, is 
the fact that the first book printed by the firm, in 18 17, 
was a translation of Seneca's " Morals," and that the 
last book printed in the lifetime of Fletcher Harper, the 
youngest and last to pass away of the founders, was tiie 
Latin original of the same work. 

As regards the other periodicals of the firm. Harper s 
Weekly Vidi'^ begun in 1857, and was appropriately entitled 
" A Journal of Civilization," which it has continued to 
be from that time to the present. It was started as an 
illustrated paper, though at the beginning the pictures 
were few as compared with those now given, and, while 
quite as good as had been produced up to that time, 
were crude in comparison with the artistic and well- 
finished illustrations of the present day. It at once, 
however, .sprang into a prominent place, and fi\-e months 
after its first issue the publishers were able to announce 
a circulation of sixty thousand copies. Since then, up 
to the present time, the Weekly has continued faithfully 
to record, with descriptive articles and appropriate illustra- 
tions, the leading events of the world. 

Harper's Bazaar made its appearance in 1 868, and its 
growth has been steady from that time to this. It was 
issued as an illustrated weekly for women, " Devoted to 
Fashion, Pleasure, Instruction, and the Fine Arts." Its 
leading department is that of the Fashions, though it has 
a literary side as well, publishing serial novels and short 
stories from the leading writers of the day. Harper's 
Young People, the last-born of the Harper periodicals, 
came into existence in 1879, and has made its way until 
it stands to-day in the front rank. 

Fletcher Harper died May 29, 187^, and with him the 
original firm ceased to e.xist. The firm now consists of 
sons and grandsons of the original members. 



io8 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLHS \\ DALY. 

Judge Charles P. Dai.v, who for so man)- jcars 
occupied a prominent seat on the hencli of New York 
City, began life in a humble way, and progressed to his 
later position of honor through sheer force of innate 
ability. He was of Irish parentage, his parents coming 
to New York in 1814, in which cit>- he was born two 
years later, his birthplace being a house built upon the 
site on which the judicial murder of the patriot Jacob 
Lcislcr occurred in the colonial history of the State. 
The elder Daly had been an architect in Galway, but 
became a hotel-keeper in New York, his small but 
popular hotel being on the site where the great Trih/dii 
building now stands. The son obtained his education 
in a neighboring school, among his classmates being 
the after Cardinal McCloskey and James T. Hrady. 

His father died during his school-years, and the son 
found himself obliged to make his own way in the 
community. His first thought was to see and know 
something of the world, an inclination which perhaps 
afterwards led him to the positions of president of the 
American Geographical .Society and honorary member 
of various Royal Geographical Societies of Europe, and 
also to the writing of his learned treatise entitletl " What 
we know of Maps and Map-making before the Time of 
Mercator." His first journey was to Savannah, where 
he obtained a clerical situation, and found himself so 
severely overworked that he soon threw it up to indulge 
further his disposition for adventure, — now as a sailor. 
In this field of abundant e.xijeriencc of hardship and 
incident, "before the mast," he sjient the succeeiling 
three years of his life. In 1830 his shi]) lay at anchor 
in the harbor of Algiers at the time the Frencli were 
besieging it, prior to its capture and conversion into 
a colony of France. 



He was still cjuitc j'oung when, having had enough of 
a sailor's life, he landed in New York. Work of some 
kind was necessarj', and, having had some experience 
with carpenters' tools on shipboard, he apprenticed him- 
self to a master-carpenter, and went diligently to work 
to master the trade. W'hile thus engaged, his leisure 
hours were not wasted. He joined a litcrarj' society, 
and frequented the reading-room of the Mechanics' and 
Traders' Society. In the one he Icarnctl to debate ; in 
the other he read much and studied earnestl}'. His 
native powers of elocution, keen logic, and cleverness 
of illustration attracted the attention of a legal \isilor 
at these debates, who was so struck with his powers 
that he advised him to study law, and offered him 
money to enter college. Young Daly, not wishing to 
incur an obligation, declined, and continued his appren- 
ticeship till its conclusion, though meanwhile his em- 
plover had died and he was legally freed. By so doing 
he was of great service to the wiilow, in aiding to 
relieve the business from financial embarrassment. 

At the end of his term of apprenticeship he gave up 
his traile, and entered a law office as junior clerk, at 
the salary of three dollars a week. At that time legal 
apprenticeship was tedious, the prescribed term of pro- 
bation being seven years. But the young student was 
so diligent, and proved so capable, that he gained a 
remission of half the time, and was admitted to the bar 
in 1839, becoming a partner of Thomas McKlrath. This 
partnershi]) continued for three years, when Mr. Mclll- 
rath left the law for the press, joining with Horace 
Greele)^ in founding the New York TriliKiic. Mr. Daly 
now associated himself with William Bloomfield, under 
the firm-name of Daly & Bloomfield. 

The progress of the young lawyer was rapid and 
encouraging. He soon, however, took part in politics, 
in which his powers as a debater became \'aluable, and 
were rewarded, three years afterwards, by his election to 
the New York Assembly. His period of life as a legis- 
lator was not long. A vacancy occurred on the bench 
of the Court of Common Pleas of New York, and Mr. 
Daly ap[)lietl to the governor to reappoint the incum- 
bent whose term had expired. This the governor 
refused to do, adding, " Why not take it yourself?" and, 
despite Dal)-'s ])lea of youth and inexperience, insisted 
on appointing him to the vacant seat. Thus, at the age 
of twenty-seven, the young lawyer fouiul him.self occu- 
pying that position upon the bench which he was to fill 
for so many years with distinguished honor and ability, 
and from which he finally retireil at the end of 1885 with 
the universal encomiums of the bar of New York. 

During his period of service in the Court of Common 
Pleas, Judge Daly was offered positions on the l)ench 
of the .Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, nom- 
inations to Congress, etc., all of which he declined. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



109 



GEORGE W. CURTIS. 

Georgk William Curtis, the well-known occupant 
for nian_\- j-ears of Hdrf'cr's " Easy Chair," was born 
in Providence, Rhode Island, February 24, 1824. He 
renio\'ed with his father to New York in 1839, and in 
1842 went to West Roxbury, Massachusetts, to join the 
famous Brook Farm Association, a communistic enter- 
prise in which several of the leading literary men of 
New England were concerned, but which lacked that 
element of business management from whom alone 
success could have been ho[)ed. In 1846 Mr. Curtis 
went to Europe, where he de\i)ted four years to travel 
and stud)-, being a student in the University of Berlin 
during the re\olutionary outbreak of 1848. He re- 
turned to the United States in 1850, and here he entered 
the literar}- field, the outcome of his tra\-els in Egypt 
being given in his " Nile Notes of a Howadji," a work 
which was soon followed b\' the " Howadji in Syria." 
These poetically written and picturesque!)' descriptive 
works were widely read, and brought him into notice 
as a new and skillful worker in the field of literature. 
For some time afterwards he was connected with the 
New York Tribune as art-critic and assistant editor, and 
also became a favorite lyceum lecturer, a field of occu- 
pation in which he remained engaged for many years. 

On the establishment of Putnam's Maoazinc in 1853 
Mr. Curtis was engaged as one of its editors, and con- 
tinued with it until 1857, becoming in\'olved in the failure 
of its publishers in that \-ear. Immediately afterwards 
he formed a literar)- connection with the firm of Harper 
& Brothers, and remained with them till his death, 
engaged in editorial work on their periodicals. He took 
his seat in the " Easy Chair" of Harper's Mai^aziisc in 
1858, and continued to write its bright and breez)- arti- 
cles until almost the day of his death, furnishing in his 
man\- )'ears of service sketches on almost e\-ery con- 
ceivable subject of public interest, and all written in a 
rich \-ein of comment and with a warm sympathy with 
luuiian affairs which matle this a favorite corner of the 
magazine with all readers. In 1S63 he became the politi- 
cal editor of Harper's Weekly, and continued to fill this 
position in common with his labors on the magazine. 

In 1863 he was offered by President Lincoln the post 
of consul-general of Egypt, but declined. In 1867 he 
served as delegate-at-large in the constitutional conven- 
tion of the State of New York, and took part in the 
deliberations leading to the formation of the amended 
constitution. The University of New York elected him 
to the office of regent in 1864, and in 1870 he was nom- 
inated as Secretary of State of New York, but declined. 
His interest in the reform of the civil service brought 
him from President Grant in 1S71 an appointment upon 
the commission of inquiry into that department of gov- 
ernmental affairs, and on the organization of the commis- 

15 




sion he was chosen chairman. Other appointments in 
the service of the government were offered him by 
President Hayes, including the mission to England in 
1877, '"'"I '" 1878 that to German)'. Both these posts 
of honor were declined. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Curtis published a number of works in 
adtlition to those we have nameil, these including " Lotus- 
ICating" (1852), " Potipliar Papers" (1852), " Pruc and I" 
(1853), and "Trumps" (1856). Of these works " Poti- 
phar Papers" was a humorously satirical production, and 
" Prue and I" attained a high degree of popularity from 
the richness of imagination displayed in its poetically 
written pages. " Lotus-Eating" is also full of brilliant 
word painting, and " Trumps" is an able character novel 
of New York society. 

Mr. Curtis received various honors from uni\ersities 
in recognition of his standing in the world of letters. 
Brown University conferred upon him the honorary 
degree of A.M., while that of LL.D. was received from 
Harvard, Madison, and Brown Uni\ersities. F'or many 
years he was a prominent adx'ocate of civil service reform 
in the United States, becoming president of the National 
Civil Service Reform Association, and his earnest and 
well-directed' labors in its behalf did much towards the 
degree of success which it has attained. Politically he 
was a Republican, which party he had joined on its 
formation, advocating, in numerous public addresses, 
the election of John C. Fremont to the Presidenc)'. He 
was a delegate to the Republican national convention 
of 1884, but afterwards refused to support the party 
nominees, and joined the party of opposition to the 
election of James G. Blaine to the Presidency. He 
died August 31, 1892. Since his cfeath two volumes 
of choice examples of his " Easy Chair" essays have 
been published. 



no 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GENERAL HORACE PORTER. 

General Poktek is a native of Huntingdon, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he was bom August 15, 1S37, being the 
son of Hon. David R. Porter, State senator and Governor 
of Pennsylvania for two terms, 1839 and 1844. After 
receiving an elementary education he entered the scien- 
tific department of Harvard in 1854, having already mani- 
fested a strong tendency towards mechanical pursuits, 
and also a love for a military life. Me invented, when 
only twelve years of age, a water test which was used 
in his father's extensive iron-w(3rks, and subse([uentl\- 
devised many mechanical improvements. 

His military inclinations leil to his being entered at 
We.st Point Academy in 1S55, where he graduated in 
i860, third in a class of ft)rty-one. He was commissioned 
second lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps, and for three 
monllis served as instructor in artillery. After the out- 
break of the Rebellion he at once came into active service, 
taking part in October, 1861, in the expedition against 
Port Royal, and subsequently, as first lieutenant, in the 
operations for the reduction of Fort Pulaski. Heie he 
was ])romc>teil captain for meritorious conduct, and pre- 
senteil b)- the connnanding officer with a sword taken 
from the enemy. In July, 1862, he was appointed chief 
of ordnance of the Ami)- of the Potomac, and as such 
.served in the battle of Antietam. He was afterwards 
transferreil to the .same position in the Army of the Ohio, 
and subsequently in the Army of the Cumberland, being 
now appointed captain of general staff duty on the field. 
He distinguished himself brilliantly in the hanl-fought 
battle of Chickamauga, and while serving on the staff 
of General Thomas at Chattanooga first met General 
Grant, with whom he was afterwards so closely associated. 



General Grant, whose recognition of ability was instinc- 
tive, was greatly pleased with the )-oung staff officer, and 
in 1864, when placed in supreme command of the army, 
he made Porter an aide-de-camp on his staff, with the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel. As such he took part in the 
series of battles in the o\erlanil march to Richniontl, was 
made major in the regular army for gallant conduct in 
the battle of the Wilderness, and lieutenant-colonel for 
similar gallantry at Spottsylvania. During the remainder 
of the war he was a close companion of General Grant ; 
being with him in his thrilling rush through the lines 
after the failure of the mine ijefore Petersburg, to with- 
draw the imperiled troops, and attending him in all the 
subsecjuent events till the surrender at Appomattt).\. He 
was promoted brigadier-general in Februaiy, 1865, and 
was one of the small group present on thai famous occa- 
sion when General Lee signed the document of surrender. 
He is still in possession of the flag which was used on 
that occasion, — the head-quarters flag of the ami)-, — 
which was presented him b_\' General Grant. 

After the war he made a tour of the South, followed 
by a valuable report on the condition of the freetlmen. 
He subsecjuentl)' accompanied General Grant in his toiu" 
of the Northwestern States, during which he gained a 
reputation as an orator of unusual abilit\-, his style of 
speaking combining humor, pathos, and trenchant satire. 
He was afterwards engageil in military duties, served 
as Assistant Secretarj- of War under Grant, antl in 1869 
became President Grant's private secretary. The asso- 
ciation of the two coiitimieti closel)' inlinialc until the 
death of the great Union commander. 

In 1873, General Porter resigned from the arm_\- to 
accept the position of \ice-pre.sident of the Pullman 
Palace Car Company, which he still holds. In 1875 he 
was made chairman of the E.xtension Committee of the 
Metropolitan Elevated Railway, in which he was largely 
interested financially. He subsequentl)' became con- 
nected as a director with mmierous railroad enterprises 
and with the lupiitable Life Assurance Societ)- and the 
Continental National Hank. He is also president of the 
West Shore Railroad Company. 

There is scarcely a New York club worth naming of 
which he is not a member, while he is president of se\eral 
military societies, of the Union League Club, anil the 
Grant Monument Association, h'or the latter he raiseil 
S400,000 to builil a fitting nioimment for his tlead chief 
and comrade. These are by no means all of General 
Porter's social and jiublic connections, while his orations 
and his occasional literary proiluctions have brought him 
into prominence in anotlier field. He speaks I'rench and 
Spanish fluentiv and is well \crsed in the literature of 
these languages. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



Ill 



PATRICK FARRELLY. 

Patrick I'akrelly, tlic life and soul of the great- 
American News Company, is a nati\c of Ireland, in 
County Cavan of which country he was born about 1837. 
His father, Owen Farrelly, was tlic master of a private 
school in Ireland, and a man of strons^r con\-ictions and 
sterling character. In consequence of the political dis- 
turbances of 1848 he found his business seriously in- 
terfered with and Ireland so distracted that he felt it 
advisable to emigrate from that countrj'. He came to 
America, settled at Penn Yan, New York, and there himself 
educated his sons. After some years spent in this locality, 
he removed with his family to New York City, his son 
Patrick, who had passed a period of youthful service as 
a newsboy on the Erie Railroad, being yet only about 
seventeen years of age. There was a younger son, 
Stephen, who was also to become prominent in the man- 
agement of the American News Company, as presiding 
agent of its important Philadelphia branch. 

Mr. Farrelly's boyish experience in the distribution of 
news matter to travelers was the guiding influence in his 
later life, for shortly after his coming to New York, about 
1854, he entered into the business of wholesale news-dealer, 
as a member of the firm of Hamilton, Johnson & Farrelly. 
At this period the business of news distribution was in its 
infancy. News-dealers for a long period were obliged to 
go in the early morning hours from office to office to 
collect their papers for the day's demand. In the years 
between 1842 and 1850 several men started into the busi- 
ness of making up newspaper packages for the supply of 
dealers, and saving them the necessity of personal atten- 
tion to this matter, but none of these dreamed of the 
mighty organization to which they were paving the way. 
Publishers, howe\-er, as the business widened, found it 
annoying and expensive to keep separate accounts with 
all the small news-dealers, and began to consider the 
necessity of some intermediary system that would relieve 
them from this trouble and expense. 

At that time Boston and Philadelphia were in advance 
in the publication of periodicals, but in 1855 the New 
York Ledger began to undermine the prosperity of the 
ri\al weeklies. Its agents were the firm of Ross & Tou- 
sey. On the retirement of Mr. Ross, Sinclair Tousey 
and his son joined the firm of Dexter & Brother, news 
agents, under the firm-name of Sinclair Tousey & Co. 
Into this firm came, soon afterwards, that of Hamilton, 
Johnson & Farrelly. Thus the three strongest firms 
were blended into one, and rapidly developed that busi- 
ness of news distribution upon which they had pre- 
viously entered. In 1864 several minor houses joined 
their interests with this strong organization, and out of 
this combination came the American News Company, 
composed of men whose experience had taught them 
that union was inevitable to the proper handling of the 




business, and that by active management a great organi- 
zation might be built up. 

Sinclair Tousey was the first president of the company, 
He is now dead, and has been succeeded by Henry 
Dexter, now over eighty years of age, but still active and 
efficient. Mr. Johnson, its first treasurer, still retains 
that post of dut\-, and Patrick Farrelly is still the aggres- 
sive, never-resting manager of the New York office, the 
head-quarters of the far-reaching concern. Outside of 
New York there are branches in all the leading cities of 
the Union. 

The real business leader of the great concern is Patrick 
Farrelh', who manages the metropolitan business in its 
finely appointed Chambers Street building. It is hard to 
describe Patrick Farrelly. He is a combination of Andrew 
Jackson and A. T. Stewart, — shrewd, silent, sleepless, and 
bristling at all [joints with activity and aggressiveness. 
His whole life has been a struggle, which has led to a 
prodigious success. He is very reticent in character, 
though he is brought into daily, almost hourly, contact 
with publishers and authors. No man shrinks more from 
public notice than he. Yet no man is more prominent in 
affairs. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce 
and of the Board of Trade and Transpoitation, a bank- 
director, and is such an expert on the postal laws that 
publishers and committees of Congress frequently call 
upon him for information and advice. 

As for the business of the American News Company, 
it is enormous. It employs directly eleven hundred 
and fifty-four persons, and the New York office has 
direct connections with over three thousand one hun- 
dred dealers. It handles man\- millions of newspapers 
daily, together with \-ast numbers of books, and has 
received and distributed over fort)' thousand copies of 
a single book in one day. 



112 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




REV. BRADY H. BACKUS, D.D. 

Bkapy ICi.ECTL's liACKUs was born in Troy, New York, 
Marcli 24, 1839. Both his parents were descendants of 
early New England settlers, among whom were Gov- 
ernor William Bradford, of Massachusetts Colon)-; Lieu- 
tenant William Backus, Norwich, Connecticut; Lieuten- 
ant William Pratt, Saybrook ; Captain Andrew Mann, 
Hebron ; Major William Wliiting, Treasurer of Con- 
necticut Colony, Hartford; and the Re\-. Jdhii Whiting 
(Harvard), chaplain in King I'hilii/s War. 

His mother, Martha Cordelia Mann, was a daughter 
of Judge Benning Mann, of Hartford, one of whose 
maternal ancestors was Margaret Peters, sister of the 
celebrated Rev. Dr. Samuel Peters, of Hebron, Connec- 
ticut. His father, Professor Augustus Backus, of Mrs. 
l-'mma Willard's Seminary, was the son of Colonel Elec- 
tus Mallary Backus, wlio served in tlie Revolutionar)' 
War and the War of 1812, and who, as commander of 
tile regular troops, Light Dragoons, was killeil at the 
battle of .Sackctt's Harbor, New York, in May, 181 3. 

His uncle, Colonel Klectus Backus, Jr., was graduated 
at W^est Point in 1824, served through the Florida, In- 
dian, and Mexican Wars, and was brevetted for gallant 
and meritorious conduct in the .several conflicts at Mon- 
terey. Colonel liackus married a daughter of General 
Hugh Brady, U.S.A., was an original member of the 
" Aztec Society," and died in Detroit, Michigan, where 
he was military commander of the State in 1863. 



Professor Augustus Backus and his brother, Colonel 
Backus, purchased lands in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 
1835, and the family removed to that locality in 1856. 
The subject of this sketch was educated at the High 
School in Grand Rapids, read law, was admitted to the 
bar before the .Supreme Court of Michigan, and practiced 
his profession in Detroit until 1866, when he decided to 
study for the ministr}' in the Episcopal Church, of which 
his family were meinbers. He entered Trinity College, 
Hartford, in the autumn of the same year, and was 
graduated in 1870. He then matriculated at the General 
Theological Seminary, of New \'ork Citv, from w liich he 
graduated in 1873, and was ordained deacon and priest 
by Bishop Horatio Potter. His first ministerial duty was 
as assistant minister of St. Peter's Church, New York. 
He next became rector of Christ Church, Cooperstown, 
New York, and was soon afterwards called to his present 
charge, as rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles, 
New York, which pastoral charge he has now held for 
nearly twcnt\' years. He received the degree of D.D. 
in 1 88 1. 

Dr. Backus succeeded to a parish which had once been 
a pioneer work under the Re\'. Drs. Houlaiul and Geer, 
and was the mother of churches farther up-town. It 
was founded in 1846, when there were but few people 
and housis in that localit}', which was then known as 
" Chelsea." .Vniong the manorial estates there situated 
were those of the Moores anil Cushmans and Robert 
Ray, Ivsq. With the growth of the city and its various 
changes the parish has alwa\'s been a strong i)ower for 
good in the neighboring district. Many distinguished 
families, whose names are well known in the cit\-, have 
attendeil its ser\'ices. The good seeii sown here has 
borne its fruit in other places. Under its ]iresent rector- 
ship its religious and beneficent inlluences among the 
[3oor and working classes have been more widelj' ex- 
tended, anil are recognized and valued as a conser\'ing 
and renewing force among the people of the West Side. 

Who shall .say that such focal points of truth and 
blessing have not a most important relation to the 
making of the metropolis, as all good citizens would 
have it, now and in the \'ears to come? Commerce, 
finance, social inllueiice, all ha\e their place, but ]nirit\', 
honesty, anil fraternit\-, in the fear of God, are a nation's 
best wealth. 

Dr. Backus is a member of the New iMigland Society, 
and the .Societies of (.'olonial Wars, .Sons of the Revo- 
lution, and the War of I Si 2. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



"3 



J. HARPER BONNF.LL. 

J. Harper Ronnell, liead of the ink-making company 
tliat bears liis name, was born in 1850, being the grand- 
son of John Harper, one of the founders of the great 
pubhshiiig house of Harper & ]5rothers, of whom we 
give a biographical sketch elsewhere. Mr. Bonnell, after 
passing through his period of school life, made the 
manufacture of printing inks the business of his mature 
years, and has brought this class of goods to a stage of 
great perfection, while gradually building up the large 
manufacturing business which he still acti\ely conducts. 
His life has been so closely devoted to the advancement 
of his business and the improvement of the inks manu- 
factureil by him, that his career presents few biographical 
tletails, and we cannot do better than describe the de- 
velopment of the New York ink industry, which has 
been largely due to himself, and may be given prin- 
cipally in his own words. 

"As I look back to the year in which I was born," he 
remarks, " I find that the makers of the highest grade 
of printing inks were our English cousins. To-day one 
has but to pick up a Harper or Leslie to see that, com- 
pared to us, the English no longer can claim superiority 
over, or even equality with, American manufacturers. 
England comes to us to-da\- for our fine grades of ink, 
which compliment I highly appreciate, as my former 
partner was the agent here for English inks. Since then 
an English house, directly related to and connected with 
English makers, has exported our goods. In Sidney, 
Australia, they secured the first prize over makers of all 
nations." 

This we give, not as an eulogy of Mr. Bonnell's es- 
tablishment, but as testimony from one well competent 
to speak of the superiority of American productions, in 
this one line at least, to those of England. During the 
period of his business career the demands of the press 
have steadily increased, particularl\- for inks adapted 
to the delicate engravings which have replaced the 
somewhat crude wood-cuts of the past, and the photo- 
engravings which, by their cheapness and exactness of 
reproduction, have become so prominent a feature of 
recent illustration. 

Mr. Bonnell, as regards the conditions of the book- 
making art in England at our day, quotes the following 
pertinent remarks from Henry Newton Stevens's work 
entitled " Who spoils our new English Books ?" This 
author says, in reply to his own query, " First, the 
author; second, the publisher; third, the printer; fourth, 
the reader; fifth, the compositor; si.xth, the pressman; 
seventh, the paper-maker; eighth, the ink-maker; ninth, 
the book-binder ; and tenth and last, though not least, 
the consumer, who is to blame for putting up with it. 




although the ink-maker is a sinner of the fiist magni- 
tude." 

In this somewhat sweeping denunciation Mr. Bonnell 
quite accords with the author, so far as his special re- 
mark abiHit English inks is concerned, and sa\-s, " I find 
Mr. Stevens to be perfectly correct, and have, since reatl- 
ing his work, sent many tons of ink to Merrie England," 
not, as one maj- safely aver, without improvement in this 
one feature of English books. 

Mr. Bonnell relates an interesting and characteristic 
anecdote of George W. Childs, the eminent Philadelphia 
publisher, who one day said to him, " I have one fault 
to find with your ink." The visitor expressed great 
regret and asked what the fault was. " You do not 
charge enough for it," answered Mr. Childs. " I knew 
he meant it," says Mr. Bonnell, " and raised the price 
accordingly. Next express brought me an engraving 
of Mr. Childs, which I ha\e always prizetl for its connec- 
tion with a fault of which I have not since been accused." 

Mr. Bonnell tells a similarly characteristic anecdote 
about his grandfather, John Harper, which is worth 
repeating as an interesting addition to the biography of 
the latter. On one occasion he saw Mr. Harper nod 
carelessly to Commodore Vanderbilt, and immediately 
afterwards make a polite bow to another person. On 
asking him how he came to treat the latter undistin- 
guished individual more respectfully than the noted 
millionaire, he replied, " That is one of my compositors ; 
he will think more of it." There could be nothing more 
significant of the character of the man than this brief 
remark, in which was displayed a spirit of human fellow- 
ship and consideration of the feelijjgs of others which, 
unhappily, is too rarely possessed by those in authority. 



114 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN LEWIS CHILDS. 

John Lewis Ciiii.ds, the well-known florist and seeds- 
man of Floral Park, Lonj^ Island, was born at North Jay, 
Franklin County, Maine, May 13, 1856, his father, 
Stephen Childs, beinj^ a fainier of that district, a man of 
the most sterling integrity and courage in ad\ersity, but 
I if moderate circumstances and with .1 large famil}- to 
support. John Lewis was the next youngest of ten 
children. His opportunities for education were very 
limited, and there were none for the development of his 
special taste and talent, which consisted in an early and 
ardent love for flowers, gardening, and the more artistic 
fields of rural life in general. .Such tastes could not be 
gratified on a Maine farm, where hard work in the fields 
was the necessary daily regimen, and the aspiring )-outh 
left home at seventeen and succeeded in obtaining em- 
|)loyment with a fiorist at Queens, Long Island, iiiuicr 
whom he worked for a year with untiring intiustr)- and 
intelligent stud)- of the business which he had determined 
to make the avocation of his life. 

Leaving his employer at the end of his short period of 
probation, he set out boldly for himself, leasing about 
forty acres of poor soil antl renting a small room over 
a store. He at once went to work diligently to improve 
his small estate, and at the same time announced himself 
as a seedsman and fiorist, and sent out si.K lumdreil 
copies of an eight-page circulai^, calling attention to his I 
new enterprise. This was in 1874, the future florist being ' 
then but eighteen years of age, and possessed of little 
capital beyond youth and energy. In the years that have 
passed since that enterprising beginning, the few acres 
have grown into a finely cultivated estate of .several 
hundred acres in area, the small room into a great ware- 



house and a beautiful rural village, his single-handed 
labor into that of a small army of emplo}'es, and the 
diminutive catalogue into the " Floral Guide," a book of 
one hundred and fifty pages, of which over one million 
copies are printed anil circulated annually, while in the 
proper season eight thousand to tiii thousand orders for 
flowers and seeds are received daily, coming from all 
quarters of the civili/.ed globe. 

Mr. Childs's labors began, as stated, with the cultivation 
of some forty acres of barren soil, in that nearly desert 
stretch of country known as the Hempstead Plains, 
while his pockets were almost empty of cash. To that 
infertile soil his earnest labor has brought the highest 
fertility, the sandy plains of twetity )x-ars ago, in which 
even the thistle had to struggle for existence, being trans- 
fnnncti into the blooming Floral Park of to-day. By 
ceaseless activit}' and tireless industr}- he has built up a 
flourishing business which is known in floricultural circles 
throughout the world, while the estate which he has 
developed is unsurpassed in beauty, the attractiveness of 
its surroundings being a marvel to all spectators who are 
aware of its origin. In fact, Mr. Childs's business has 
grown until it is now one of the greatest nursery, seed, 
and flower industries of the world, while Moral Park, as 
he has named his attractive village of residences and 
business structures, includes acres of forcing-houses, a 
large storage warehouse, various ]iacking-houses, and a 
large number of cozy villa residences erected b)' him for 
his employes, and which are richly adorned with flowers 
and foliage. In their midst is a church and a school- 
house, most of the money for which has been contributed 
by Mr. Childs, while their suj)port depends mainly on his 
generosity. In addition to his annual catalogue he pub- 
lishes a monthly magazine. The Mayjlmvcr, which has a 
circulation of over three hundred thousand copies among 
fliiiiculluiists, horticulturists, and farmers. He person- 
ally attends to the details of his large business, going so 
far as to sow and gather the rarer seeds with his own 
hand, as too precious to trust to less intelligent labor. 

Mr. Childs is happily married, his wife being Carrie 
Goldsmith, of Washingtoiuille, New York, a lad)- of 
rare culture, and one who, while a skilled housewife, is 
an artist and writer of ability. In 1890 the political 
friends of Mr. Childs nominated him as Republican can- 
didate for Congress, to represent CJueens, Suffolk, and 
Richmond Counties. Though he failed to be elected, he 
considerabK- reduced the Democratic majoril)-. He ran 
again in 1892, with the same result, his defeat being fidl)- 
expecteil in view of the doininaiue of the o|)p()site paitv 
in that Congressional district, while the degree to which 
he ran ahead of his ticket gave ample evidence of his 
high personal popularity. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



"5 



HENRY CLEWS. 

Henry Clews, one of the most eminent of New York- 
bankers, is Englisli by birth, coming from an oltl and 
higliK' respected famil)- of Staffordshire. His father, 
making a business journey to this country, brought 
with him his son, not yet fifteen, and found the bi^y so 
fascinated witli the enterprise and practical spirit of the 
American people, that he yielded to his desire to remain 
and engage in business life in New York. He had in- 
tended that his son should be educated at Cambridge 
for the ministry, but now obtained for him a position 
as junior clerk in the large wool-importing house of 
Wilson G. llunt & Co., where he remained a number 
of years, gratlually advancing in position. 

A mercantile life, however, did not prove to his taste, 
financial pursuits being more attracti\e, his procli\it)' in 
this direction developing into a strong ambition to become 
a banker. The long-desired opportunity came to him in 
1859, when he became a member of the newly-organ- 
ized banking firm of Stone, Clews & Mason. Soon 
after its organization a change took place in the firm, 
its name becoming Livermore, Clews & Co. It was well 
established and tloing a good business at the outbreak 
of the civil war, a contest which proved highly to its 
advantage. Mr. Clews held the highest confidence in 
the ability of tlie go\ernment to suppress the rebellion, 
was outspoken in his defence of the Union cause, and 
was, in conseciuenco, selected by Secretary Chase as the 
agent for the sale of the bonds issued by the government 
to meet the extraordinary expenses of tlie war. These 
bonds were not very favorably received by tiie business 
world, many financiers regarding them as very risky 
securities. But Mr. Clews, though he knew the treasury 
was empty, had the utmost faith in the strength and 
abilitj^ of the government and the recuperati\'c power of 
the North, and nut only sank every dollar of his own in 
the bonds, but borrowed largely for the same purpose, 
bringing himself seriously into debt. The task he had 
undertaken was one of magnitude and difficult}-, and his 
exertions in its successful prosecution have become a 
matter of histor}-. In 1S64 his firm subscribed to the 
national loan at the rate of from five to ten millions a 
day. It need scarcely be said that liis trust in the 
government was well placed, and that his house bene- 
fited largely by its faith. Secretary Chase at a later time 
said, " Had it not been for Jay Cooke and Henry Clews, 
I could never have succeeded in placing the 5-20 loan." 

After the war Mr. Clews made banking his distinctive 
business, though he retained his valuable commission 
business in government bonds. The revival in railroad 
interests that followed offered one of the most valuable 
fields for investments, and his house engaged in the 
negotiation of railroad bonds in luirope, a line of busi- 
ness in which it became very extensively engaged. The 




present firm, that of Henry Clews & Co., was formed in 
1877, each member pledging himself never to take a 
speculative risk. Its business has grown until it is now 
probably wider and more varied than that of any other 
banking house in the country. There is no man in 
America whose advice and opinion in matters of finance 
are more highly prized than those of Mr. Clews. 

Mr. Clews has alwa\-s taken a deep interest in Ameri- 
can politics, but merely to the extent of securing good 
government, he persistently declining to accept an offi- 
cial position. Twice the portfolio of the Treasury 
Department has been tendered liim, and as often the 
Republican nomination for mayor of New York, but 
business interests have in each case forced him to de- 
cline these proffered honors. He also declined the post 
of collector of the port of New York, offered him by 
President Grant, and subsequent!}- conferred upon Gen- 
eral Arthur. Yet he has not hesitated to act when 
reform became imperative, and to him is due the credit . 
of originating and organizing the famous Committee of 
Seventy, before whose assault the Boss Tweed Ring 
went down. His views on public or business affairs are 
broad and liberal, his opinions on the latter topic being 
particularly expressed in his book entitled " Twenty-eight 
Years in Wall Street," a work of great literary merit and 
which has called out highly favorable comment. He 
served for man}' years as treasurer of the American 
Geographical Society and the Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals, was one of the founders of the 
Union League Club, has long been a member of the 
Union Club, and is connected with many other institu- 
tions of the city. Throughout his career Mr. Clews 
has been noteworthy for industr}^, perseverance, and 
un}ielding integrity, and his career and character form 
1 a worthy example to the growing youth of this country. 



Ii6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GENERAL JACOBO BAIZ. 

General Jacobo Baiz, consul-general for Honduras, 
and extensively engaged in trade with the Central and 
South American republics, is a native of Venezuela, in 
which couiitr\- he was burn in 1S43, of French and 
American parentage. He came to New York in 1S51, 
when eight years of age. His grandfather, David Naar, 
had previously been in business, in the tobacco trade, in 
that city, and had suffered the misfortune of being burned 
out in the great fire of 1835. Young ]^aiz received an 
ordinary public school education, and in 1862, when 
nineteen years old, entered into business for himself, the 
line of trade chosen by the enterprising young merchant 
being the shipping of American manufactured goods of 
every description to Spanish and I'ortuguese sections of 
the Central and South American states, Mexico, and 
the West Indies, and receiving in return the valuable 
natural productions of these several countries. 

The business thus briefly described jjroved a jjrofitable 
one, and has been greatly extended by General Ikiiz, 
until at present his business connections are very widely 
extended over the whole region of the American conti- 
nent south of the United States, and his exports of 
American products have become very large. Tiie ile- 
mand for the manufactures of this country has steadily 
and ra|)itlly grown during recent >-ears, this couiitr)- 
graduall)' absorbing a fair share of the valuable trade 
which was formerly monopolized by h.ngland and other 
European countries, and at present the shipments of such 
goods by General Wmy. reach the large total value of 
about j;'iOOO,0(X) per annum. In return he receives 
large consignments of the varied and valuable agricul- 



tural products of the countries named, including such 
articles as coffee, india-rubber, skins, hides, indigo, antl 
various other of their more desirable products. Among 
these he particularly devotes himself to the importation 
of coffee, cari')'ing to-day large stocks of this material 
imported from Brazil and other South American countries 
and the coffee-grow ing districts of Central America. He 
was the first to introduce the valuable coffees of Central 
America into this country to any large extent. General 
Baiz is an expert in the different grades of coffee, and his 
judgment of a samj)Ic of the fragrant berry stantls as an 
authority in the trade. 

He is one of the largest exporters in this countr\- of 
all kinds of machinery anil manufactured jiroducts, in- 
cluding carriages, harness, and in short about cver\- class 
of goods in demand bj- the citizens of our sister republics 
of the south. I le has o\er three hundred foreign business 
correspondents in all i)arts of the civilized world, and 
particularly in the countries to which his trade connections 
principally extend, and has in his employ a staff" of four- 
teen clerks, many of them cultivated linguists, the busi- 
ness of the office being carried on in the English, Spanish, 
Portuguese, and French languages. General Baiz is him- 
self a linguist of luuisual proficiency, speaking all the 
above-named languages with ease and flucnc}'. 

In addition to his business connections with the coun- 
tries named, he holds also important official relations. In 
the years 1874 and 1875 he was appointed consul-general 
for the several republics of Guatemala, San Salvador, 
and Honduras. The first named two positions he retained 
until within the past two years, while he still retains the 
consul-generalship for Honduras. From this country he 
received, for services rendereii in 1886, the title of briga- 
dier-general. During the period of his business career 
he has served as confidential agent in this countiy for 
President Soto, of Hontluras, President Barrios, of Gua- 
temala, and President /,alili\ar, of San Salvador, a fact 
which clearly shows the \er)' high regard in which he is 
held by the authorities of the countries named. 

General Baiz is personally a courteous and affable 
gentleman, no man bearing a higher reputation than he for 
integrity and just dealing in his special line of tratle, while 
his business enterprise reflects cretlit upon the city of his 
adoption. He is a member of the Produce and Coffee 
Exchanges and of the Chamber of Commerce, and is 
vice-president of the New York Driving Club. If he 
has any special weakness, it is in favor of horses, to wiiich 
he is especially devoteil. He was married in 186S to 
Miss Seixas, of Charleston, South Carolina, and has three 
children, Florence, Marguerite, and Arthur, the latter a 
' student at Berkelej- School. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



"7 



HENRY E. G. LUYTIES. 

Until a few years ago the city of New York was 
almost destitute of facilities for the storage of wines. 
American travelers who visited the femous wine districts 
of France and Germany and saw with wonder the im- 
mense wine-cellars on the Rhine, or the miles of vaults 
cut in the chalk rocks of the Champagne district, could 
not come back but with the belief that in this respect 
America was far behind the Old World. This lack of 
storage facilities told seriously on the quality of the wines 
imported to this country, and particularly on that of the 
Bordeau.x, Moselle, and other light wines of Europe. 
A year or two in New York would render the best of 
these wines dry and hard, while if they had remained in 
the even temperature of European cellars they would 
have steadiK' im[)ro\ed in qualit)* and value. The inade- 
quate storage-room for such wines is the reason why 
light wines, either Bordeaux, Rhine, or Moselle, the best 
and most exhilarating drink for every-day use, have 
lacked the appreciation here that is given them at every 
dinner-table in Europe. There it is the quality and 
character of the wine which help to animate the con- 
versation and add materially to the enjoyment of a good 
dinner. In the different parts of E^urope some one wine 
has usually the preference over all others. In France it 
is the famous wine of the Gironde (Bordeau.x). In the 
south of Germany it is the light Rliine or Moselle wine. 
In the north of Germany it is again Bordeaux. In 
Belgium and Holland (Belgium especially) the liurgundy 
wine stands first In appreciation, and many private indi- 
viduals have wine-cellars of enormous value. In the 
United States there is nothing comparable to this. 

The finest wine-cellars which we have ever seen and 
which can be compared with the famous establishments 
on the other side are those of Luyties Brothers & Kessler. 
They are situated under the approach of the New York 
and Brooklyn Bridge. 

In the year 1866 Henry \\. G. Luyties and Gerhard 
Luyties began in a quiet wa\- the business of importing 
wines to New York Cit}-. In the autumn of 1868 they 
occupied modest quarters at 166 Front Street, which 
situation was soon changed for 13 Murray Street, near 
l^roadway, where they remained si.x or seven years. 
Thence they removed to 150-152 Duane Street, corner 
of West Broadway, in which locality they continued 
seven or eight years. These stores and cellars becoming 
too small for their growing business, they next occupied 
stores in Astor's new building, corner of Broadway and 
Prince Streets, where they had cellars and sub-cellars 
one hundred and ten feet wide and two hundred and 
twenty feet deeji. Here they remained some ten years. 

While still occupying these stores they gradually 
began to utilize the vaults and arches under the approach 
of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge for storage 
16 




purposes. Years of time and a small fortune in money 
have been spent in fitting up these vaults for their purpose, 
and they now constitute a magnificent wine-cellar, per- 
haps etjual to the finest to be found in lun'ope. The im- 
mense structure of the bridge can hardly be correctly 
appreciated unless a visit be paid to this establishment, 
which now occupies, under a long lease, all the arches 
and vaults from Park Row to North William Street, and 
from William to Rose .Streets. The bridge has recently 
been extended on botii sides, in order to increase the 
terminal facilities, and this has proved a further improve- 
ment to the cellars, protecting them entirely from the 
rays of the sun. An idea of the extent of these impro- 
vised cellars may be gained when we state that their 
storage capacity is about one million gallons. The}- are 
lighted up by one thousand electric lights, while electric 
power is used in the transference of wine from cask to 
cask, and in connection with hydraulic power for the 
elevators. 

RecentI)- the bLisiness of Luyties Brothers was con- 
solidated with the long established wine department of 
G. Amsinck & Co., the firm-name being changed to 
Luyties Brothers & Kessler. Henry E. G. Luyties, 
junior partner of the old firm, whose portrait we give, 
now represents it in New York, Mr. Gerhard Luyties 
having resided in Europe for some si.x years past. His 
place of residence is Hamburg, where a branch house for 
the purchase and export of wines has been established. 

The firm also represents the Aix-la-Chapelle Kaiser- 
brunnen Compan)-, who ship large quantities of their 
famous mineral waters to this country. The reputation 
of these excellent thermal springs for drinking and bath- 
ing purposes dates back to Charlemagne, who used the 
water and the baths with very beneficial effect upon his 
health. 



Ii8 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOSEPH MATHHR SMITH, M.I). 

Joseph Mathick Smith, of New York City, was born at 
New Rochelle, New York, in 1789. His father. Dr. Mat- 
son Smith, was a distinguished phj-sician of that pkice, 
president of the \Vestchester County Medical Society, 
foremost in promoting tlie welfare of the comnuinity, 
and belonged to an old Connecticut family, marrying a 
daughter of Dr. Samuel Mather, of Lyme, an officer 
and surgeon in the War of the Rc\olution, and a de- 
scendant of the Rev. Richard Mather, who came from 
England to this country in 1635. 

Dr. Joseph Mather Smith graduated at the New York 
College of Physicians and Surgeons in 181 5. During 
the War of 1812, he was commissioned in 1814 as sur- 
geon's mate of the First Regiment New \o\\<. Horse 
Artillery. In 1824 appeared his work entitled "Ele- 
ments of the Etiology and Philosophy of Epitlemics," 
a volume declared at the time to be " fifty years in ad- 
vance of the medical literature on its subject," and whicli 
was pronounced in the review of it by Sir James Johns- 
ton as "doing honor to American Medicine." 

In 1826 he was appointed professor of the Theory 
and Practice of Medicine in the New York College of 
Phy.sicians and Surgeons, as the successor of the illus- 
trious Dr. David Hosack. Until 1866, the year of his 
death, thus covering a period of forty years, he unin- 
terruptedly filled either this |)rofcssoiial chair, or the one 
on Materia Mcdica and Clinical Meilicine. A Memorial 
Annual Prize in the college now bears his name. In 
1829 he was appointed attending physician to the New 
York Hospital, a position which he held until his decease. 



In I S3 1 he married Henrietta M. Beare, daughter of 
Henry Martin Beare, of New York. She was a most 
accomplished lady, a descendant of the old New York 
colonial families of the Rutgers, Lispenards, and Mars- 
tons. In 1854 he was elected president of the New 
York Academy of Medicine. In 1864 he was appointed 
president of the Council of Hygiene of the Citizens' 
Association of New York, and it is chiefly due to the 
efforts of that body that an efficient board of health was 
established in the metropolis. He was one of the early 
promoters of the American Medical Association, and his 
masterly reports, as printed in the first, third, and thir- 
teenth volumes of its Transactions, illustrate the logical 
arrangement of all his thoughts and the breadth and 
comprehensiveness of his inquiries. He was the author 
of numerous discourses and essays which were pub- 
lished ; among these may be mentioned " Efficacy of 
Emetics in Spasmodic Diseases," 18 17; " P'pidemic 
Cholera Morbus of Europe and Asia," 1831, published 
by and at the request of the trustees of the college; 
"Public Duties of Medical Men," 1846; "Puerperal 
Fever, its Causes and Modes of Propagation," 1S57; 
"Therapeutics of Albuminuria," 1862. 

Dr. Smith was pre-eminently patriotic. He was a 
Christian gentleman of the old school. Grave, without 
formality ; dignified, yet not haught)- ; affable, unassum- 
ing and uni\ersally belo\ed. He died in New York 
in 1866, leaving a widow, three sons, and two daughters. 
All three of his sons did honorable service during the 
ci\il war, one in a medical capacity and two in the 
Seventh Regiment, N. \' . S. N. G. 

Dr. Wm. C. Roberts, in his eulogiuni upon Dr. Smith 
before the New York Academy of Medicine in 1867, in 
alluding to his writings, remarked: "The .style of his 
written discourses is classical and elegant, exhibiting, 
without labored attempts at fine writing, depth and 
beauty of thought and expression, wealth of erudition, 
abundance and fclicit)- nf illustration, and accurac\- of 
logic and s\-nta\." 

Dr. P'lisha Harris closed his biography of Dr. Smith 
before the New York State Medical Societv with these 
words (Trans., 1867): " Forty years a public teacher in 
medicine, forty-si.x years constantly concerned in the 
active charities of the profession in public hospitals, for 
more than thirty years a consulting iihj'sician whose 
practical advice and diagnostic aid were widely sought 
by his brethren, and to the end of his days a progressive 
and noble exemplar of the great qualities that e.xalt our 
profession, the beneficent influence of his life still lives. 
His memory is embalmed in our hearts, and will not be 
forgotten by the generations that follow us. " 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



119 



GOUVERNEUR M. SMITH, M.D. 

GouvEKNEUR M. Smitii was born and resides in New 
York Cit\', and is the son of the late Joseph Mather 
Smith, M. D., professor in the New York College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, a sketch of whose life appears 
on the opposite page. His grandfather, Dr. Matson 
Smith, was a distinguished physician of New Rochelle, 
New York, who married a daughter of Dr. Samuel 
Mather, of Lyme, Connecticut, a captain and surgeon 
in the army of the Revolution and a descendant of 
the Rev. Richard Mather, who came from England to 
America in 1635. 

Dr. Gouverneur M. Smith, on the maternal side, is 
connected with such old New York families as tlie Lis- 
penards, Rutgers, and Marstons, being a great-great- 
great-grandson of Colonel Leonard Lispenard, member 
of the first Colonial and first Provincial Congresses. He 
graduated from the New York University in the class of 
1852, received the degree of A.M. in 1855, and belongs 
to the Delta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities. In 
1855 he graduated at the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, New York, and in 1856 was appointed physician 
to the Demilt Dis])ensar\-. In 1858 he was one of the 
delegates from the New York Academy of Medicine to 
the meeting of the American Medical Association held 
at Washington, and subsequently represented the Acad- 
eni\- in the Medical Society of New York State at Al- 
bany. During the civil war he served gratuitously as a 
medical officer on board the United States Sanitary 
Commission transport " Daniel Webster." In Decem- 
ber, 1862, he was appointed acting assistant surgeon, 
United States army, and served until the close of the 
war. In 1864 he was appointed executive officer in 
charge of the United States Army General Hospital, at 
which he was stationed, during the absence of the sur- 
geon in command of the post. His father died in 1866, 
and Dr. Smith was selected as his successor as one of 
the attending physicians of the New York Hospital, and 
since 1879 he has been one of its consulting physicians. 
He has also been one of the attending physicians of 
Bellevue Hospital, and one of the attending and con- 
sulting physicians of the Presbyterian Hospital. From 
1875 to 1878 Dr. Smith was vice-president of the New 
York Academy of Medicine, and since then has been, 
for about fifteen years, one of its trustees. In 1887 and 
1888 he was president of the New York Society for the 
Relief of Widows and Orphans of Medical Men. 

He has written many essays, which ha\e been pub- 
lished in the " Transactions of the New York Academy 




of Medicine," Medical Record, the Aiiicriciiii Joiinial of 
the Medical Scioiccs, and elsewhere. Of these, his arti- 
cle, " Uses and Derangements of the Gh'cogenic Func- 
tion of the Liver," was reviewed in London as being 
"admirable and suggestive." His essay, "The Epi- 
demics of the Century, and the Lessons Derived from 
Them," was pronounced by the American Journal of 
Medical Sciences, Philadelphia, to be a " scholarly pro- 
duction." His pa]ier, "Wasted Sunbeams — L^nused 
House-Tops," Medical Record, April 21, 1888, was 
quoted from and reprinted in various journals, and very 
favorably and wideh' noticed. He has, in a lighter 
vein, written a number of poems, both of a serious and 
humorous nature, which have appeared in various peri- 
odicals. Among the more notable of his humorous 
verses may be mentioned " Santa Claus's Mistake," 
published in Harper's Monthly, December, 1888; "An 
International Congress of Microbes at Berlin," which 
appeared in the Medical Record, Januar)- 10, 1 891, and 
"Santa Claus and the Burglar," published in the Mail 
and Express, December 22, 1892. Dr. Smith is a mem- 
ber of the Society of Colonial Wars, has been one of 
the board of managers of the Society of the Sons of 
the Revolution, was one of the incorporators and is 
treasurer of the Society of the War of 181 2, one of the 
consulting physicians of the St. Nicholas Society, and a 
member of the Century and Metropolitan Clubs. He is 
also one of the managers of the New York Association 

I for Impro\ing the Condition of the Poor and of the New 

, York Institution for the Blind. 



I20 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WHITELAW RHID. 

WniTELAW Reid, notable in the newspaper world for 
his many years of connection with the Tribune, that great 
power in American journalism, was born October 27, 
1837, near Xenia, Ohio, of which town his father, a strict 
Covenanter, was one of the founders. Mr. Reid was 
ctkicated at the Miami University, where he graduated 
in I S55. He vcrj- earl\- in his career entered into political 
and newspaper life, making speeches for the Republican 
party in the Fremont campaign, when not )-et twenty 
years of age, and becoming editor of the Xenia News. 
He soon after became widely known as a ready and able 
writer by his brilliant letters to the Cincinnati Gazelle, 
signed " Agate." He was thus engaged at the opening 
of the civil war, his letters attracting attention alike from 
their vigorous style and their trustworthy information. 
He took part in the war as a volunteer aide-de-camp to 
General Morris, and afterwards to General Ro.sccrans in 
the West Virginia cam|3aign of 1861. Later he served 
as war correspondent with the Army of the Cumberland 
and the Army of the Potomac, and was present at the 
battles of Shiloh and Gettysburg. 

In 1863 he accepted the position of Librarian of the 
House of Representatives at Washington, in which he 
remained until 1866, contributing meanwhile Washing- 
ton corres])ondence to the Cincinnati Gazelle. After 
the war he matle a journey through the South, and 
for some time tried cotton-planting in Louisiana and 
Alabama. The results of his observations while thus 
engaged were embodied in a book entitled " After the 
War," which was ])ublished in 1866. On his return 
to Ohio he became one of the proprietors of the Cin- 
cinnati Gazette, and for two years was engaged in 
writing a book entitled " Ohio in the War." This was 



published in 1868, and is esteemed as of much historical 
value. 

Mr. Reid's connection with the Tribune began in 1868, 
in which )-ear he was invited by Horace Greeley to come 
to New York and accept an editorial position upon that 
paper. His ability in this field soon made itself so mani- 
fest that he was quickly advanced to the post of managing 
editor, in which he showetl much skill and acti\-ity in 
gathering news, and came into such favor with Mr. 
Greeley that, when in 1872 he accepted the nomination 
for the Presidency, he put the whole control of the paper 
in Mr. Reid's hands. It has remained there since, through 
its various changes in proprietorship. On the death of 
Mr. Greeley, which took place immediateh- after the 
1872 Presidential election, Mr. Reid succeeded him as 
editor-in-chief, while he became the principal owner of 
the paper. As such he has made the Tribune a leading 
exponent of the principles of the Republican part\-, and 
it has remained from that time to this one of the most 
vigorous and influential organs of the party. His " Me- 
morial of Horace Greeley," an interesting biographical 
sketch of his late friend and chief, was published in 1873. 

In 1872, Mr. Reid was chosen by the Legislature of 
the State regent for life of the University of New York. 
He was subsequently twice offered the po.st of minister 
to Germany, — by President Hayes and afterwards by 
President Garfield, — but in both instances the demands 
of business forced him to decline. Later, in Presitlent 
Harrison's administration, he accepted the French em- 
bassy, a post which he filled with honor and dignit}-, the 
public appreciation of his services abroad being expressed 
in dinners by the Chamber of Commerce, the Lotos 
Club, and other organizations on his return home. The 
Chamber of Commerce elected him an honorary mem- 
ber, a mark of respect which had been bestowed on only 
fifteen other men during the centurj- of the Chamber's 
existence. 

Shortly afterwards he was chosen as chairman of the 
Republican .State convention, held to elect delegates to 
the Republican national convention of 1892. This con- 
vention, after nominating General Harrison as its candi- 
date for the Presiilency, asked the New York ilelegation 
to name a candidate for Vice-President. Mr. Reid was 
named, and was accepted by a unanimous vote of the 
convention. His letter of acceptance, and the several 
speeches which he afterwards made, were among the 
mo.st effective contributions to the literature of the cam- 
paign. 

In addition to the works named, Mr. Reid h.is pub- 
lished "The Schools of Journalism," "The Scholar in 
Politics," "Some Newspaper Tendencies," "Town Hall 
Suggestions," and numerous contributions to periodicals, 
all of a practical character and close adaptation to the 
trend of thought of the times. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



121 



WILLIAM H. APPLETON. 

WiLLiAir Menrv Appleton, for many \'cars the head 
of tlie extensive New York publishing house founded in 
1825 by Daniel Appleton, was born at Haverhill, Massa- 
chusetts, January 27, 18 14, being the eldest son of the 
distinguished publisher. His father, who had carried on 
the dry goods business at Ha\-erhill, removed in 1825 
to New York, starting the same business on Exchange 
Place in that cit)-, and adding to it the importation of 
pjiglish books. His son, then but eleven years of age, 
was placed in charge of the book department, at that 
time a very small one. The store was soon removed to 
Clinton Hall, Beekman Street, and the sale of dry goods 
gradually abandoned, the book trade having grown so 
extensive as to absorb the attention of the proprietor. 
In 1835 William PL was sent to Europe in accordance 
with a promise made him by his father in his boyish 
days. He landed at Liverpool, and went to London, 
where, without letters of introduction and presenting 
his personal card only, he quickly made the acquaintance 
of the heads of the great publishing houses, including 
William Longmans and John Murra}-, ami was so suc- 
cessful in his business arrangements with these publishers 
that his father gave him a three months' holiday for travel 
in Europe, advising him to study while there the condi- 
tions of the book trade in Germany. 

A year later he made a second journey to London. 
He made no purchases on this occasion, in consequence 
of the panic conditions which at that time affected 
American business, but while there started a permanent 
agency in Little Britain, and published several books of 
religious extracts which had a fair .sale. In 1838 his 
father admitted him to partnership, the firm removing 
to No. 200 I^roadway and assuming the title of Daniel 
Appleton & Co. Ten years afterwards, in 1848, the 
father retired from business, requesting his son, on doing 
so, never to sign a check or note without the name of 
Daniel Appleton written out in full. This request has 
been faithfully complied with. 

A new firm was now organized, composed of William 
H. Appleton as head, and iiis brothers John A., Daniel 
S., George S., and Samuel F. Appleton as subordinate 
partners. Of these five brothers the last two named 
have since died, while three grandsons of the originator 
of the house, \\'illiani W.. Daniel, and tldward D. Ap- 
pleton, are now members of the firm. William W., the 
eldest son of the subject of our sketch, became a partner 
in 1868, and in 1880, on the partial withdrawal from ac- 
tive business of his father, was recognized as manaeer of 
the establishment. Yet William H. Appleton, though 
now ad\anced in years, has never ceased his close con- 
nection with the affairs of the firm, and is still energetic 
in such details of the business as he keeps in hand. 

On the reorganization of the firm in 1848 the business 




was removed to the corner of Broadway and Leonard 
Street, and since then, with the growth of the city up- 
town, has made various removals. In 18S1 the retail 
job and importing branch of the business was abandoned, 
the publishing department having grown so great that 
it was necessary to devote sole attention to this depart- 
ment. In 1853 a printing-office and bindery had been 
established in I-'ranklin Street, but in consequence of the 
large increase in publishing, it was removed in 1868 to 
Brooklj-n, where nearly a sfjuare in extent is occupied 
for this purpose. 

The publications of the house are so numerous and 
varied that wc can name but a few of the more important 
of them. Among its greatest ventures is the " New 
American Cyclopaedia," the largest and most widely 
circulated work of its class ever published in this 
country. This appeared from 1857 to 1863, and a 
revised edition, greatly improved and increased, was 
issued from 1873 to 1876. In 1861 began the publi- 
cation of an "Annual Cyclopiedia," which is still pub- 
lished yearly. Among other important issues are the 
" Popular Science Monthly," the " Cyclopaedia of Ameri- 
can Biography," the " International Scientific .Scries," and 
many valuable art, medical, and educational works. 

Soon after the ci\-il war, Mr. Appleton suggested to 
Rev. J. W. Bcckwith, then made Bishop of Georgia, 
that he would like to honor his promotion by founding 
an orphans' home in his diocese. This suggestion has 
culminated in a Church Home for Orphan Girls, daughters 
of Confederate soldiers, at Macon, Georgia. It is known 
as the " Appleton Church Home," the name being given 
in memory of his oldest daughter, who died in China. 
It is in charge of deaconesses of the<Order of St. Katha- 
rine, the inmates being given a plain English education 
and tausht all kinds of household work. 



122 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




^% 



4- ^ 



OSWALD OTTENDOKFEK. 

Among tlic Americans of German birth who have 
achieved distinction in, and became prominent and useful 
citizens of, this countr}' must be named Oswald Otten- 
liorfer, who, like his friend Carl Schurz, and others of 
his countrymen who might be named, has won honor 
in the land of his adoption. He is a native of Austria, 
where he was born on I-Ybruary 28, 1826, at Zwittau, 
and educated in the University of Vienna. Graduating 
there, he was sent to Prague to study law. While he 
was thus engaged the revolution broke out, and the 
young student, burning with the spirit of libert\-, joined 
those in revolt against the autocratic go\ernment, and 
fought bravely behind the barricades in the streets of 
V'iemia. 

The rebellion was ])ut down with the aid of a Russian 
army, and with a slaughter like that of a great war. 
N'oung Otteiidorfcr was fortunate enough to escape, 
;ind made his way to Leipsic, and thence to Dresden, 
which was also in re\'olt against feudal despotism, and 
where he again took liis place behind barricades as a 
soldier of liberty. 

After tile su])pression of this outbreak he returned to 
Vienna in 1850, homesick for his native soil, and despite 
the fact that his life was in danger. Ik did not remain 
there long; his friends advised him to fly for safety; like 
many of the revolutionists lie took passage for America, 
hoping to find in tiiis western land a haven for that liberty 
of which he was denied the enjoyment at home. Me 
landed in New York without a friend, without money, 
and (juite ignorant of the language of his new home. 
His classical education was of no use to him here, and 
it proved no light or easy task to procure even the 
necessaries of life. His first regular work was in a 
factoiy in which all his fellow-workers were Irish, and 



where he, unable to speak the language, had an\thing 
but an agreeable time. 

Yet the young emigrant was possessed of spirit and 
enterprise, and was determined to win his way. On his 
return home at night from his hard labor, he spent his 
hours in an earnest study of English, realizing that 
before he could hope for any success, even in factory 
work, he must make himself master of that. Tiu- recinxl 
of his first years of life in this countrj- was one of man\' 
mutations of ft)rtuiie, which finall)' ended in his obtain- 
ing a clerkship in the Stants Zti/iiiig, a German-American 
newspaper then struggling for a position among the 
journals of the metroi)olis. Here his advantages of 
education and of native ability came into play, and by 
dint of industry, integrity, and literary skill he gradually 
advanced in the office until he was promoted to tlic 
responsible position of chief editor. 

At that time the Stiuits Ziitiiiii:; had a circulation of 
but five thousand, ami was maintaining a struggle for 
existence among its active comjietitors. Uniler his in- 
telligent and energetic management the circulation grew 
with rapidity, and it now has a circulation of si.xty thou- 
sand, has a magnificent dwelling-place in its publication 
building, and is undoubtedly the greatest German news- 
paper in this country, and among the greatest in the 
workl, its influence being felt in Europe as well as in 
the United States. 

In 1S39, Mr. ( )tten(Inrfer married Mrs. Jacob I'hl, the 
widow of the late proprietor of the paper, anti a woman 
of noble nature, excellent business traits, and advanced 
ideas, ^\•hich rendered her ca|)able of giving him very 
material assistance in the conduct of their joint \-enture. 
What the paper is to-day it owes in great part to her 
intelligence and cultivated foresight. She clung to it, 
when it was in straits and she a poor widow, ami in its 
after-period of prosperity, used much of the mone_\- 
made in good works, spending more than half a million 
dollars in kibors of charity, largeh- in connection with 
the German Hos])ital and in educational pur|x>ses. She 
died in 1 884, leaving her tievoted widower to complete 
hci' woiks '.•^^ pliil,nUiii'ii])y. 

In 1880, Mr. Ottendorfer, feeling that his health was 
giving way, made a journey to luirope and \isited his 
native land, where he was received with an ovation of 
welcome. 

He took an active part uith his paper in aitling the 
election of President Cleveland in 1884, being attracted 
chiefly by Mr. Cleveland's reform sentiments. He is a 
close personal friend of the President. Reform, indeed, 
is his platform, ami he figlits against Tamman\' dicta- 
lion to-da\- as strongly as he did against the Tweed 
control in 1872. Mr. Ottendorfer ma_\' be looked u])on 
as one of our ablest journalists ami most public-spirited 
citizens. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



123 



ROBERT HOE. 

Robert Hoe, mechanical engineer and manufacturer 
of printing machinery, was born in New York, March 
10, 1839. The American family descended from Robert 
Hoe, of tile hamlet of Hoes, Leicester, England, who 
came to New York in 1803, and began there the manu- 
facture of printing-presses, constructing and introducing 
into America the first iron and steel printing machines. 
Only wooden plates and screw-presses had before been 
in use. The famil\' is of Saxon origin. Hoe being Anglo- 
Saxon for High or Hill. On his mother's side Mr. Hoe 
is of Puritan stock. The first great in\'ention in printing 
machinery was made b)- Richard March Hoe, born in 
New York in 1S12, to whose inventive powers we owe 
the celebrated Hoe's type-revolving press, which makes 
the impression on both sides of the sheet at the same 
time. In a single leap the productive power of the press 
advanced from four or five thousand to twenty thousand 
impressions per hour, and the Hoe machines were quickly 
introduced into the leading newspaper offices of the 
world. 

Robert Hoe succeeded to the business built up by his 
predecessors in the family, and became identified with 
the progress of the printer's profession, sparing no effort 
or expense to meet the growing requirements of the 
printer in all the departments of the typographical art. 
The eight- and ten-cylinder presses seemed like a finality, 
yet it was not long before they were superseded in the 
larger offices by the web-perfecting press, which remark- 
ably increased the productive power of the machine, 
w liilc requiring less than half the labor formerl)' neces- 
sar)'. In all the large newspaper offices of to-day the 
rotary perfecting press is in use, delivering its complete 
eight-page papers at the extraordinary rate of seven 
hundred or more per minute. 

When these presses had attained a speed of eight or 
ten thousand per hour, a difficulty arose in the seeming 
impossibility of delivering beyond a certain rate from the 
fly. This trouble was obviated in the Hoe establishment 
in 1877 by a contrivance b\- which si.x or eight sheets 
were laid one above another and then delivered from the 
fly at one motion. Machines for pasting, folding, and 
counting were added, and there are Hoe machines now in 
use which are capable of printing, pasting, counting, and 
folding ninety-si.x tliousand four-page papers per hour. 

This development in the powers of the press has 
caused an equal development in the business, and what 
were previously thought very e.xtensive works have been 
greatly increased. The New York works of the firm 




occup\- the space between Grand, Sheriff, Columbia, and 
Broome Streets, and possess a floor space equivalent to 
five acres of ground, which is furnished with a plant of 
the highest order of efficiency. The branch works in 
London occupy a block of ground, and are equally well 
equipped. The firm emplo}s fifteen hundred hands, and 
has two hundred apprentices, for whose instruction it 
has provided day and night schools. The Hoe printing- 
presses are now in all the principal newspaper offices of 
the United States, Great Britain, Australia, etc., and the 
demand for them is steadily increasing. 

Robert Hoe, the present head of the firm, has always 
resided in New York, where he takes an acti\-c interest 
in all matters relating to the progress of literature and 
art. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan 
Museum of Art and of its connected industrial art 
schools. In addition to his city interests he possesses 
a model stock farm in Westchester County, on which is 
his summer residence, and where he keeps a choice herd 
of the best examples of thoroughbred dairy stock from 
England and the Channel Islands. In his city residence 
he is the possessor of what is considered the finest pri- 
vate library in New York, if not in America, and which 
contains numbers of costly treasures. His collection of 
mediaeval. Oriental, and other illuminated manuscripts 
in vellum is unri\-aled in this country, and among his 
prizes is an unique copy of the original black-letter 
" Romaunt de la Rose," which cost him over g6ooo. 
The library abounds in other costly examples of the 
typographical art. 



124 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




LUTHER G. BILLINGS. 

LuTiiF.R G. BiLi.iN(;s was born in Rcmscn, Oneida 
County, New York, of .stcilin;^ anci patriotic New ICng- 
land parentage. Three of his ancestors gave wyi their 
lives in the cause of liberty at the battle of Groton 
Heights, and his father, the Hon. Andrew Billings, en- 
gaged as a youth in the War of 1812, taking part in the 
battle of Sackett's Harbor. He was afterwards for many 
years a prosperous merchant, became an influential mem- 
ber of the New York Legislature, and for twenty years 
served as postmaster, receiving his appointment from 
President Jackson. 

The subject of our sketch was the youngest of a 
large famil)-. At the breaking out of the civil war he, 
then a youth of nineteen, entered the United States navy 
as an acting assistant pa)-master in the volunteer service. 
He served throughout the war w ilii marked distinction, 
and upon more than one occasion received the commen- 
dation of his commaniling officers for gallant and meri- 
torious conduct. 

In June, 1864, he was attached to the United States 
steamer " Water Witch," in Georgia waters. At night 
the vessel was .ittacked by a boarding-party of rebels. 
When the alarm was given, Mr. Hillings jumped from 
his berth in his night-clothes, secured a pair of revolvers, 
and made his way to the deck. In a desperate hand-to- 
hand encounter he killed the Confederate commander 
and several of his men, and finally saved the life of his 
captain, who had been overpowered, by killing his as- 
sailant. He was himself .severely wounded antl taken 
prisoner. After his capture, lie was taken to the hos- 
pital at Savannah, Georgia, where he remained until his 
wounds were but partially healed, when he was trans- 



ferred to the stockade at Macon, and there suffered all 
the privations of prison life. Determining, if possible, 
to escape, he joined with some of his fellow-prisoners in 
digging an underground tunnel to freedom, but just as it 
was completed and the day had been set for the escape, 
they were betra}-ed 1)\- one of their own number. 

While being transferred to Charleston, South Carolina, 
he escaped 01 route b\' jumping from the moving train at 
Pocotaligo, but, after three da)-s in the swamps, weak- 
ened by hunger and fatigue, he was recaptured by the 
aid of a pack of bloodhounds, when just in sight of the 
masts of the blockading scjuadron. After remaining in 
the jail-\ard at Charleston in the " shell" district for about 
two months, exposed to the fire of our own batteries that 
were then shelling the city, he was removed to Libby 
Prison at RichiniMul, \'irginia. 

During his prison life he suffered greatly for lack of 
food and clothing and from sickness consecjuent upon 
these deprivations. After several months of most severe 
prison experience he was at length exchanged on the 
James River, and on the 3d of March, 1865, was pro- 
moted to assistant paymaster. .Subsequent!}-, in reward 
for his gallantry in the fight on the " W.iter Witcli," 
he was promoted fifteen numbers in his grade for " ex- 
traordinary heroism" uniler the act of Congress proxiding 
therefor. On May 4, 1866, he was promotet! to the 
grade of paymaster. 

In 1866 he was attached to the " Wateree" on the 
Pacific coast. While there, the terrible earthquake oc- 
curred that destroyed the town of Arica, Peru, the 
" Wateree" being carrieil lluee-quartcrs of a mile inland 
and totally destroyed by the great tidal wave that fol- 
lowed. L'[)on this occasion Mr. Billings received a highly 
commendatory letter finm his commanding officer for the 
heroic manner in which he enilea\-ored to save life and 
property. 

In 1 886 he was selected to organize a system to 
enable the government to complete the cruisers " Chi- 
cago" and " Boston," made necessary by the failure of 
the contractor. This he tlid mo.st successfully. He 
subsequent!)- ser\etl on a board appointed to reorganize 
the bu.siness methods and book-keeping of the Navy 
Department, and as assistant to the paymaster-general. 
This arduous task was s;itisfactoril_\- accomplisheil, and 
the new method adopted remains in effect. 

In 1889 Mr. Billings made a cruise to the west coast 
of Africa, and completeil a three years' cruise as fleet 
paymaster of the North Atlantic Squadron, on board the 
flag-ships " Baltimore" and " Philadelphia." In January, 
1893, he was appointed purchasing and disbursing officer 
at New York, and on January 9, 1895, received his final 
promotion to the grade of jjay-director. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



125 



NORMAN L. MUNRO. 

Among the weekly newspaper publishers of New York 
none have been more acti\e or achieved greater success 
than Norman L. Munro, the subject of our present sketch. 
He was born in 1843, at Millbrook, Pictou County, Nova 
Scotia, being the descendant of a line of sturdy farmers 
in that agricultural country. This latest descendant of 
the family had no inclination to cramp his abilities on a 
farm. He was possessed of great energy and ambition 
and a strong native spirit of perseverance, and with these 
qualities, a good character, and a fine constitution, he 
made his way to New York at the age of twenty-five, 
with little capital beyond these useful mental and pln'sical 
possessions. 

He obtained his first enipl<i\Mncnt in a publishing 
house in a minor capacit}', but ser\cd his employers well, 
and took cverj- pains to acquire a knowledge of the 
details of the business. He saw clearly that there was a 
fortune in the business if judiciously managed, and in 
those early days, when he had only the savings from a 
small salary as prospective capital, he resolved that he 
would one day be a publisher, though he wisely kept 
this purpose to himself, feeling that in his then position 
it would merely provoke derision. He worked steadily 
towards it, howexcr, storing his mind with the practical 
details of the publishing business, saving what money he 
could by rigid econom\', and in time gaining a sum which 
he decided was sufficient for his purpose, though it was 
a very small capital for such an enterprise. This time 
arrived, he informed his employers that he could serve 
them no more, as he was about to start a business of his 
own. 

At that time New York j^ossessed two prosperous 
weekl)- story papers, the New York Ledger and the New 
York Weekly. It was a paper of this kind that the newly- 
launched publisher had in \iew, and in .September, 1873, 
the first number of his new enterprise, the Faiiiily Story 
Paper, was issued from a small office, No. 169 William 
Street, a desperately cramped locality as compared with 
the present palatial quarters of this journal. 

The new paper came into existence at an inauspicious 
time. September, 1873, was the date of beginning of one 
of the worst panics the country has known ; merchants 
and financiers soon after were failing in thousands, and 
Mr. Munro's business enterprise seemed to have poor 
chance of success. His prosperous rivals sneered at 
the paper as " an insignificant rural sheet," or treated it 
with silent contempt. But it continued to come, despite 
their scoin and the business convulsion, and the people 
began to buy it, seeing in it merit as a purveyor of 
popular fiction. Slowly at first, then more rapidly, it 
gained a circulation, reaching a paying basis before the 
capital of its publisher was exhausted, and continuing to 
grow until he was obliged to seek larger quarters at Nos. 

17 




28 and 30 Beekman Street. Here he was burned out in 
February, 1876. 

This would iiave been enough to crush an ordinary 
man. The edition iif the newspaper was printed, ready to 
supply to the trade, and was rediiced to ashes. It looked 
like ruin, but it was not ; within an hour after reaching the 
scene Mr. Munro had formeil his plans, given his orders, 
the labor of replacing the burned sheets was begun, and 
the Family Story Paper and his other publications were 
on the stands in time. In March, 1893, another fire took 
place in the great building on Vandewater Street then 
occupied as the publishing house. Much damage was 
done and the loss greater than in 18.76, but Mr. Munro 
was now a man of great wealth, aiul could afford to look 
on the loss with equanimity. 

The circulation of the paper gradually grew until it 
reachctl four hundred thousand, and there were added 
to it se\-eral other weeklies in lighter vein. In addition 
to these Mr. Munro published large numbers of cheap 
editions of foreign novels and other works, the Munro 
" Libraries" distributing thousands of such works weekly, 
many of them of the best literature in the cheapest form. 

In one year (1885) he printed and gave away to the 
subscribers of the Family Story Paper fifteen million six 
hundred thousand novels, or one for each copy issued 
during the year, many of these works of leading Euro- 
pean novelists. In addition, each new story in the Family 
Story Paper is advertised by an eight-page sample copy, 
millions of which are distributed throughout the United 
States and Canada. Our sketch of Mr. Munro must end 
with that finale with which the story of every man's life 
eventually closes. Despite his fine phj'sique, death came 
to him within a \-ear of the date of^he fire that made 
havoc in his large establishment. He died February 24, 
1894. 



126 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ORSON DESAIX MUNN. 

Orson Desaix Munn, the subject of this sketch, has 
been identified with the Sciciitijic American publication 
and patent bureau for almost half a centurj-. 

He is a New Englandcr by biilli, his native town bear- 
ing^ his ancestral name. 

Mr. Munn was the son of Rice Munn, a successful 
fanner, and attended school at Monson Acadenn-, that 
beiiiLj his native town, until lie was si.xtccn years of a>^e, 
when he entered the book store of Colonel David 1'. 
King, at Springfield, Massachusetts, where lie remained 
two years, and then he returneil to Monson and became 
a salesman and book-keeper in a country store. Soon 
after reaching the age of twenty-one, at the instance of 
a former companion, Alfred E. Heach, who was at that 
time in the office of the New York Sttii, then owned 
and conducted by his father, the late Moses Y. Beach, 
the two boys, Munn and Beach, purchased the Scitii- 
tific Aiiuricaii plant, founded a few months before b)' 
Rufus I'orter, for a few hundred dollars. Mr. Porter 
was a quaint genius, pregnant with grand, impracticable 
schemes which never materialized to his profit. This 
was in the year 1846, and it was then when the firm of 
Munn & Co., now so widely known, came into existence. 
It is quite a remarkable coincidence in this changeable 
age for two men who became associated in business to- 
gether when mere boys to continue the relationship 
witliout change for a period of almost fifty jears, as 
have Mr. Munn and Mr. Beach. Soon after the estab- 
lishment f)f the Stiintific .h/iiTirtr/i on a soutul financial 
basis, Munn & Co. added to their business as publishers 
an agency for procuring letters patents for new inven- 



tions, a profession at that time in its infancy. This 
department of their business increased with rapid .strides, 
and a few years later it was not unusual for their concern 
to prepare the requisite papers for as many applications 
for patents in a single month as there were patents 
issued from the United States Patent Office during the 
entire twelve ninntiis of its first year's existence. Judge 
Charles Mason, conceded to ha\e been the ablest and 
best Commissioner of Patents that had ever held the 
office, resigned that position in 1859, and was soon after- 
wards engaged by Munn & Co., with whom he remained 
a long time. Among the noted cases conducted by this 
firm away back in i860 was the procuring of the ex- 
tension for seven \-ears of the Morse Telegraph patent, 
which was vigorous!)- opposed by some of the most 
eminent lawyers of that period. Professor Morse, as 
well as the attorneys of recortl, always accorded it to 
Judge Mason's wise and persistent effort that the seven 
last and most profitable }'ears of the Morse patent were 
obtained. 

At the time of the Centennial Exposition in Phila- 
delphia of 1876, Munn & Co. began the publication of a 
new weekly paper, the Scicntijic Aiiicriani Supplement, 
which immediately obtained a wide circulation, which it 
still possesses. The firm also issues, montlil\-, an Air/ii- 
lects' and Builders Edition, and also an edition of the 
Seienlijie Auicrican in .Spanish, wiiich ciiculates largely 
in our Central American .Spanish-reading countries. 
Munn & Co. also do a large business publishing and 
im]«)rting scientific and engineering books. 

Mr. Munn has long been a prominent member of tin- 
Union and Union League Clubs, and has resitied in the 
same house thirty-eight years, where he has a valuable 
collection of choice paintings b)' some of the most cele- 
brated foreign artists; manj- of these pictures were ob- 
tained by him while resitling abroad. Mr. Munn has a 
handsouK- suinniei' 111 line in LiewiH_\'n P.u'k, 1 in Orange 
Mountain, New Jersey. In addition to his park estate he 
has a farm of one hundred and fift\' acres a short distance 
from his sunmur linnu, whii h is principally stockeil with 
Dutch Belted Cattle, natives of Holland, in which he 
takes great satisfaction and [lerhaps some pride. 

Mr. Munn was married in 1849 to Julia Augusta 
Allen, only daughter of Mrs. Elvira Allen, of his native 
town. Mrs. Munn was attractive in person, gifted with 
rare intellectual cpialities, and was a most devoted wife 
and mother. She died October 26, 1894, lamented bv 
her famil\- and a large circle of friends. 

Mr. Munn has two sons, both of whom are associated 
with him in the publication .iiui Patent Office Department 
of the Seientifte Ameriean. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



127 



WILLIAM B. ASTOR. 

William B. Astor, son of the celebrated founder of 
the Astor family and fortune, and after his father the 
most munificent patron of the Astor Library, was born 
in New York, September ig, 1792. His early education 
was obtained in the public schools of New York, but 
at the age of sixteen his father sent him to Germany, 
that he might complete his studies at the celebrated 
University of Gottingen in that countiy. His residence 
abroad was during part of the stirring period of the 
Napoleonic wars, extending to 1812— 1813, when Na- 
poleon was organizing his grand army for the invasion 
of Russia, and to the time when that army came back 
a broken and disheartened fragment, and the Germans 
rose in a body to throw off the yoke of conquest which 
had so long lain upon their necks. 

After graduating lie returned to his native city, where, 
in 1 81 8, he married Margaret B. Armstrong, daughter 
of General John Armstrong, author of the " Newburg 
Letters," and who had held the high governmental posi- 
tions of United States Senator, Secretary of War, and 
minister to France. At the age of twenty-eight he 
entered his father's counting-house, then the centre of an 
enormous mercantile business, whose ventures reached 
to eveiy quarter of the world. During the succeeding 
five years, however, his lather reduced his ventures, and 
gradually replaced them by interests of a less hazardous 
character. 

At that period New York was but the germ of the 
monster cit\- which has grown up on its site to-da}-. It 
was comprised in a contracted localit\' in the \icinit}' of 
the Battery, and here Mr. Astor lived, while spending 
the summer season at his father's country residence near 
Hell Gate, in a locality long since absorbed by the city. 
In those days travel had not brought the ends of the 
world together, and a summer trip was a small affair 
compared with that of the present day. Mr. Astor was 
brought up in simple, methodical, and abstemious habits, 
and he lived the life of a plain and unostentatious busi- 
ness man, troubling himself little about social demands 
or the requirements of fashionable society. In earl)' 
manhood, indeed, he was fond of sport, was an expert 
fencer, and enjoyed dancing and social pleasures, but 
with advancing age he withdrew from these recreations 
and lived a quiet, domestic, and somewhat austere life. 
He enjoyed horseback-riding, and employed it largely 
for out-door exercise, and was also an energetic walker, 
taking daily walks of miles in length, in rain or shine, 
until seventy-five years of age. He was, indeed, a man of 
rugged health and iron constitution, which he preserved 
by his simple life habits and daily out-door exercise. 




Politics, which attract so man\-, liatl no charms for 
Mr. Astor, who regarded them with a\-ersion, and kept 
sedulously aloof from any connection with party affairs. 
In his personal relations he was ever kind and courtly 
in manner, even to the humblest, and devoid of the least 
ostentation of wealth. Business, indeed, was the pur- 
suit of his life. Not speculative business, however, — the 
Astors have always avoided that dangerous pursuit, and 
confined themselves to the safest and most conser\'ative 
investments. When in 1848 he succeeded to iiis fither's 
great estate, he was alread}- wealthy in his own right, 
having been very successful in the fur trade, and occu- 
pying the position of prcsiilent of the j\.merican h'ur 
Compan}'. 

Mr. Astor's ruling passion was faithfully to perform 
the various duties which lay within his charge, and 
neither increase of responsibilities nor advance of age 
was permitted to withdraw him from a conscientious dis- 
charge of these obligations. Unticr his management the 
Astor estate was organized into a precise system, which 
has been since stringcntl}- maintained. After his wife's 
death, in 1872. he resided at his old home with his wife's 
nephew, Mr. John S. Ainslee, still devoted to business, 
his leisure being emploj'ed in reading the classics of 
French and English literature. He died November 24, 

1875. 

To the Astor Library he gave bequests amounting to 
$550,000. of which S200,ooo were in books, his gifts 
greatly increasing the usefulness of that valuable in- 
stitution. He left five children — two sons, John Jacob 
and William, and three daughters, Emily, Alida, and 
Laura. ' 



128 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




BKNJAMIN BRANDRHTH 

One of the most important industries \\ hicii is carried 
on in Sing Sing is tlic manuf.ictiire of Brandrcth's Pills 
and Alcock's Porous Plasters. The factory in which 
these arc made, established in 1837, has an annual }icld 
of one million two hundred thousand boxes of the pills, 
and of the porous plasters the enormous total of five 
millions. Since 1864 the government has received from 
this establishment for proprietary stamps more than 
S 1 ,000,000. 

lienjamin Brandreth, the founder of this great industry, 
was born in England in 1809. His maternal grandfather 
was a skillful ])hysician, who enjoyed a large and lucrative 
practice in a district near Liverpool, while his charitable 
disposition led him to much gratuitous work among the 
poor. In the latter field he availed himself of the services 
of his intelligent and industrious grandson, whom he em- 
ployed in compounding pills, under his direction, for use 
in this charitable work. Gaining in this employment 
knowledge of the composition of the valuable remedies 
used b>' his grandfather, with whom he continued to work 
until he was past twenty-five years of age and had a wife 
and three children, Mr. Brandreth resolved in 1835 to seek 
a wider field for the e.xercise of his medical knowledge in 
America, his grandfather having died. 

I^mding in New York, he rented a house in Hudson 
Street, which lie made at once his place of residence and 
his entire business establishment. The attic was his 
laboratory, and here he began that business which has 
since so greatly expanded, he preparing the ])ills, his 
eldest son, George, counting the number for each box, — 
a service for which he was just old enough, — while his 



wife performed her share of the duty by pasting the labels 
on the bo.xes. His cash capital was a modest one, there 
being but thirty dollars left after he had prepared his first 
batch of Brandreth's Pills, paid his rent, and met his early 
advertising expenses. 

The pills, however, proved a success from the start. 
They were the outcome of the years of skill and experi- 
ence of his grandfather's practice, and their value as a 
medicine was recognized by the public almost from the 
beginning. The result was a rapid growth in sales, which 
soon became so great that the manufacturing facilities of 
the attic were far overrini. It became necessary to rent 
the adjoining house, and to employ a considerable corps 
of assistants. The progress, indeed, was phenomenal, the 
sales in the second year reaching the high total of four 
hundred thousand boxes of pills. Dr. Brandreth, who 
w-as rapidly growing to be a capitalist, removed his busi- 
ness in 1837, two years after his reaching America, to 
Sing Sing, where he purchased a considerable tract of 
ground, and erected buildings on it at such a distance 
apart as to prevent their total destruction in the e\eiit of 
fire. 

In 1848 he purchased an interest in Alcock's Porous 
Plasters, and in 1857 became the sole proprietor of this 
popular remedy, the manufacture of which he added to 
his already very extensive business. The great success 
which he attained, it must be admitted, was not due solely 
to the merit of the remedies. The most valuable article 
must be brought to the attention of the public to gain 
popularity, and in the art of advertising Dr. Brandreth 
proved himself an adept. He spent money with great 
but judicious freedom in this direction, his aiKertising 
bills liming his business life reaching the grand total of 
over 33,000,000, while the variety of devices by which 
he brought his medicine to public attention was ver\- 
great. 

Dr. Brandreth's energy and business capacity quickly 
brought him into a position of prominence before the 
people, and in 1850 he was elected to the State Senate. 
He was again elected to that position in 1858, and served 
a. second term. In 1854 he purchased land in New York 
and built the Brandreth House, at Broadway and Canal 
Street, now a proj^ert)' of very great \alue. He was 
twice married. I lis first wife, Harriet Smallpagc, of 
whose useful aid we have spoken, ilied in 1836. His 
second wife was Virginia Graham, their famil>- being ten 
children. For many years he served as president of the 
village of Sing Sing, and died there I'ebruary 19, 1880, 
leaving his business to his six sons, of whom Henry 
represents the house in Kngland and the others attend 
to the business in this countr\-. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



129 



WILLIAM BRANDRETH. 

William Brandketh, son of Dr. Benjamin Brandreth, 
of whose career a sketch has just been given, was born 
at Sing Sing, New York, October 22, 1S42, being his 
father's oldest son by his second wife. His education 
was obtained at Mount Pleasant Academy, where he 
remained until si.xteen years of age, when he went to 
New York City, studied the profession of pharmacy, of 
which he gained a thorough knowledge, and afterwards 
entered the wholesale drug establishment of Palanca & 
Escalante, a Spanish firm. When twenty-one years of 
ago he made a journey to South America, and traveled 
extensively in that continent. A considerable period 
was passed b\' him in Venezuela, and a j'ear was after- 
wards spent in the British, Dutch, and Danish West 
Indies. Leaving these islands, he went to California by 
wa}- of the Isthmus, and remained there for the succeed- 
ing four years, during a portion of which he was engaged 
in the introduction and sale of medicines, and afterwards 
in the life insurance business. In this he was high!)- suc- 
cessful, founding an extensive business. 

In 1868 Mr. Brandreth returned to his native town, 
and became interested there in insurance and real estate 
operations, in which he was very successful. Two years 
afterwards he founded the firm of Howland & Brandreth, 
which for several years carried on a large and lucrative 
business. His interest in this firm was disposed of in 
1S76, and he removed to New York, where he opened 
an office for the purpose of dealing in mines and mineral 
lands. In this line of business he became familiar with 
the mineral resources of many portions of the country, 
and acquired a practical knowledge of metallurgy which 
stood him in good stead ; for while thus engaged he 
made the acquaintance of W. W. Chipman, who had dis- 
covered a method of manufacturing steel directly from 
the ore, by the action of flame, and at a cost less than 
half of that of usual steel production. In this Mr. Bran- 
dreth grew strongly interested, and became a member of 
each of the two companies \\hich were formed for the 
application of the process, the Graphite .Steel and Iron 
Company and the Carbon Iron Company. He is also 
largely interested in mineral lands in North Carolina, 
containing mines, as yet undeveloped, of iron, copper, and 
mica. He is, in addition, one of the proprietors of the 
manufacturing business left by his father, at the village 
of Sing Sing, of whose extent we have elsewhere spoken. 
It may be said here that the firm produces about five 
million of porous plasters annually, while the yearly 
production of pills in all the factories of the firm I 




amounts to the great total of two million boxes. Mr. 
Brandreth pays particular attention to the pill-making 
branch of the business, his brothers giving more of 
their time to the porous plaster production. 

Few citizens of his native place have given more active 
attention than he to public improvements Steam fire- 
engines and reservoirs for water-supply were introduced 
into .Sing Sing largelj' through his efforts, and in every 
local movement of reform or improvement he is warml)- 
interested. In whatever business he has been engaged, 
he makes it his object to gain a complete knowledge of 
its details ; and in the accomplishment of this purpose 
no amount of necessary exertion or difficulty can di\ert 
him from his purpose or discourage him in its pursuit. 
It is this element of character which has given him such 
a grasp of ever\- enterprise he has undertaken and gained 
for him the rejnitation of being a thorough-going man 
of business. His knowledge of the details of the in- 
surance business, for example, is unsurpassed, and much 
the same may be said of his acquaintance with the other 
enterprises in which he has been engaged. No ad\ice 
that can affect the interests of others is ever given by 
him e.xcept after careful and dispassionate examination, 
and his judgment upon any topic is valued accordingly. 

Mr. Brandreth was married in 1868 to Sarah Louise 
Flint, and has three children, all daughters. He is a 
prominent member of the Masonic order, with which he 
has been connected for more than twenty years, and is 
a member of the St. George's Society in New York, in 
addition to his membership in his lodge at Sing Sing. 



I30 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




AMBROSE C. KINGSLAND. 

Among those wlio have played an acti\c and katling 
part in makinfj the cit}' of New York what it is to-day, 
few are deserving of more honor and credit tlian Ambrose 
C. Kingsiand, wlio during liis whole life was closely 
identified with the growth and progress of the metropolis. 
lie was born in that city in 1804, iiis fatiier, Cornelius 
Kingsland, being a native of Passaic, New Jersey. Early 
in life Mr. Kingsland lost his father by death, anil at the 
age of seventeen he began the wholesale grocery business 
in partnership with iiis brother, under the firm-name of 
I). & A. Kingsland. 

The two young men were vcr\' active and energetic, 
being possessed of excellent business judgment and a 
\-outhful spirit of enterprise, and their business ra[)idly 
prospered, in lime becoming exceedingly lucrative. To 
their wholesale grocery line they added that of spcrm- 
f>il, then a class of goods for which there was an active 
demand, and in the fostering of this new branch of busi- 
ness were led to establish a line of ships to Liverpool, 
which was continuetl througlu)Ut the remainder of Mr. 
Kingsland's life. 

His energies were not confined to the details of his 
extensive business interests. He hail the enlightened 
foresight to perceive in advance the future development 
of the city, and the business judgment to take advantage 
of this prospective grr)wth in the value of real estate. 
Large purchases of land within the city limits were m;y.le 



by him, in locations which insured their quick increase 
in \-aluc, and he soon grew rich through these invest- 
ments, his judgment regarding the career of the metrop- 
olis being fully borne out by the event. 

Mr. Kingsland was always deeph- interested in politi- 
cal affairs, and in particular took an earnest part in mu- 
nicipal politics. In 1 85 1 he became a member of the 
Old-Line Whig party, and in that year received the 
nomination of this political organization for mayor of 
New York, liis opponent being Fernando Wood, at 
that time one of the most prominent men in New York 
politics. The confidence in the integrity and business 
wisdom of Mr. Kingsland felt by his fellow-citizens was 
shown in the result of the election, he being chosen 
mayor over his powerful opponent by a majority of four 
thousand votes. As mayor he justified the esteem and 
confidence of his constituents. Among the events of 
his administration was the visit to the city of the re- 
nowned political exile, Louis Kossuth. It devolved on 
Mr. Kingsland, as chief magistrate, to receive this illus- 
trious friend of liberty, who during his stay in the city 
enjoyed the hospitality of the ma_\or at his home. ]\Ir. 
Kingsland's public life brought him into intimate asso- 
ciation with man)- other distinguished men, and he was 
in particular an ardent friend and admirer of Henry Clay. 

He was married to Mary Lovett, and had a family of 
seven children, five of them being sons. He purchased 
the tract of land known as Beekman's Point, in the town- 
ship of Mount Pleasant, north of the city, being a por- 
tion of the old Philip.se estate, and embracing the old 
manor-house, a sturdy old brick residence which was of 
pre-Revolutionary age. On this Mr. Kingsland, having 
sold his former country-seat near Sunnyside, built in 
1S54 a handsome stone residence, on a peninsula which 
extends into the Hudson. This delightful place, sur- 
rounded by lofly trees, and affording from its jiiazza a 
broad outlook over the noble stream, became his favorite 
residence, which he made his home during the greater 
portion of the year, and where he died on October 13, 
1878. This mansion is now the residence of his son, 
.Albert A. Kingsland. 

Mr. Kingsland's whole business career was one of 
excellent judgment anil great success, and he left his 
children a large estate. In the exercise of his official 
duties he was earnestly fiilhful to the trusts under his 
care, and alike as priv.ite citizen and public official en- 
joyed the respect and confidence of all who knew him. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



131 



CORNELIUS K. GARRISON. 

Cornelius Kingsland Garrison was born near West 
Point, New York, March i, 1809. He is descended from 
old New York families, his ancestry on both sides being 
among the earliest settlers of New Amsterdam. His 
father, Oliver Garrison, had become reduced to poverty, 
and the bo\' had to begin the business of life at an early 
age, he being cmplo\-cd at thirteen in the Hudson River 
carrying trade in summer, while studying in winter. At 
the age of sixteen he began the study of architecture in 
New York City, spending three years in this employ- 
ment. This was followed by five years of practical life 
in Canada, where he was engaged in erecting buildings 
and constructing steamers for lake traffic. In this work 
he showed great ability, and was so successful that he 
was made superintendent of the Upper Canada Company, 
a corporation extensively engaged in the development of 
the newer regions of the Dominion. 

Border difficulties arising between the United States 
and Canada, Mr. Garrison soon gave up this position 
and returned -to the States, where he became engaged in 
enterprises in the vicinity of New Orleans and elsewhere 
on the lower Mississippi. He was here when gold was 
found in California, and at once made his way to Panama, 
where he established a bank for the purpose of doing 
business with the tide of emigrants to the gold-diggings. 
The bank proved very successful, and in 1852 he went 
to New York, proposing to establish a branch bank there. 
This purpose, however, was abandoned in favor of an 
alluring offer made him, that of San Francisco agent of 
the Nicaragua .Steamship Company, with a salaiy of 
§60,000 a }'ear. 

Mr. Garrison spent his ne.xt seven \-ears in California, 
during the period of the phenomenal early growth of .San 
Francisco. The company whose agency he had assumed 
was, on his taking charge of its affairs, almost on the 
verge of bankruptc\-, but within a few months the tide 
of its affairs turned, under his skillful management, to a 
great prosperity. Indeed, so great was the confidence 
which was felt in his ability and integrity, that before he 
had been si.x months in San Francisco he was elected 
mayor of the city. This office he administered as he 
administered private business, with energy, honesty, and 
earnest public spirit, he being the first mayor to suppress 
the rampant spirit of immorality that prevailed and estab- 
lish law and ortier in the new cit}-. Public gambling and 
Sunday theatricals were \igorousl\- rebuked in his first 
message, and reform in the finances and other muni- 
cipal interests urgently demanded. And what he said 
he meant. He unceasingly waged war against these 




public evils, and during his term of service ditl much 
to purif)- the polluted atmosphere of the city of the 
Golden Gate. 

He served as mayor gratuitous])-, his salary being dis- 
tributed among the orphan as)-lums of the cit}'. Among 
his reforms was the securing good educational facilities 
for San Francisco. The industrial development of the 
State was much aided b}- him, he being instrumental in 
the building of the first Pacific railroad, in the establish- 
ment of a steamship line to Australia and China, and 
in various other projects for the ad\ancement of the 
interests of the Pacific region. 

In 1859 Mr. Garrison returned to New York, where he 
became concerned in various successful financial enter- 
prises, and particularh- in steamship concerns, he becom- 
ing one of the leading proprietors of steamships in this 
country. To this he owed the familiar title of Commo- 
dore, by which he was afterwards generally known. 
During the civil war he was of great assistance to the 
government, Butler's Ship Island expedition in particular 
being fitted out by him almost entirely, and at his ex- 
pense. At a later date he founded the New York and 
Brazil Steamship Line, at that time the onlj' mail line 
on the Atlantic carrying the American flag. He also 
established a large South American trade in connection 
with his son, William R. Garrison, and was concerned in 
important business enterprises in San Francisco, Chicago, 
and St. Louis. He died Maj- i, 1885. He was a man 
of the greatest public spirit and of the warmest senti- 
ment of bene\"olence, his charities being numerous but 
unostentatious. ^ 



132 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




EDWARDS PIERRHPONT 
Judge Edwards Piekrepont 



dislinguished in the 



legal and judicial circles of New York, was born at 
Nf)rtli Haven, Connecticut, November 4, 1813. Mis an- 
cestr)- extends far back in the history of his nati\e State, 
one of his forefathers, Rev. James Pierrepont, having 
been one of the chief founders and promoters of Yale 
College. In England the family can be traced back to 
a companion of William the Conqueror, and includes 
dukes, marque-sses, and earls in its line of descent. 

Mr. Pierrepont was educated at the Hopkins Grammar 
School, of New Haven, and afterwards at Yale, com- 
pleting his .studies at the New IIa\en Law School. In 
1840, believing that the West was the true field for men 
of ambition, he went to Ohio, where, in partnership with 
the Hon. P. B. Wilco.x, he ])racticetl law till J.iiuiary. 
1846, when he returned to the East and .scttleil in the 
city of New York. Here he quickl)- gained a reputation 
a.s a lawyer of unusual ability, and became so highly 
considered among the profession that in 1857 he was 
elected judge of the Superior Court, to succeed Chief- 
Justice Oakley, then recently deceased. This judgeship 
was resigned by him in 1S60, he returning to the jjractice 
of law. 

Up to the civil war jiL-riixl Judge Pierrepont had been 
a strong Democrat. He had pn>i)JK>i<_(l the coming 
struggle two years before it came, and on the reijellioiis 
uprising of the slave-power at once proclaimetl himself 
a supporter of the Union and a sustaincr of President 
Lincoln's administration, speaking to that effect on April 
20, 1 86 1, at a meeting of loyal Democrats convened for 



the same purpose. In association with prominent New 
Yorkers he formed the L'nion Defense Committee of 
New York City, an organization which collected for the 
government over one million dollars. He also, with 
Thurlow Weed and William M. E\arts, presented to 
President Lincoln a message of fidelitj- of the P'mpire 
City to the cause of the Union. In 1862 he and Major- 
General Dix were appointed as a commission to try 
prisoners confined in the prisons and forts of the United 
States on charges of disloyalty, treason, and rebellion. 
In 1865 he worked efficiently for the second election of 
Lincoln, as a leatler of the loyal Democrats, was on 
the New York committee of citizens who attended the 
Martyr-President's funeral, and in 1867 was emploj'ed 
by the government to conduct the prosecution against 
John H. Surratt, indictetl on the charge of aiding in 
the murder of President Lincoln. In the .same year he 
served as a member of the New York State constitu- 
tional convention. 

In the two campaigns of Grant for the Presidency {\\\ 
1868 and 1872) Judge Pierrepont strongly supported 
him. Many of his campaign speeches have been pub- 
lished, and are notable political documents. On the first 
election of President Grant he was appointed United 
States attorne\- for the southern district of New York. 
This position he resigned in 1870, on the occasion of the 
as.sault upon the Tweed Ring, that he might assist in the 
prosecutions brought b\- the " Committee of Seventy." 
In 1875 he became a member of Grant's cabinet as 
Attorney-General, a post of duty in which he tried main- 
important government cases, among them the L'nion 
Pacific RailroatI and the Arkansas Hot Springs suits. 
In May, 1876, he left the cabinet to become United 
States minister to P'ngland. He had before, in 1873, 
been offered, but tleclinetl, the post of minister to Russia. 

Judge Pierrepont remained in Engl.uul till l878,show- 
intr " sireat tact and abilit\ " in his handling of affairs, and 
gaining such popularity that the University of Oxford 
conferred on him the degree of D.C.L. It may be said 
here that in 1 87 1 Columbian College, of Washington, 
and in 1873 Yale College, conferred on him the degree 
of LL.D. On his return from England he retired from 
political life and resumed his legal practice, handling, in 
the succeeding [)eriod, many important cases. He was 
one of the founders and governors of tin Manhattan 
Club, but when the rebellion broke out he left that 
organization to join the Union Club. In the last three 
years of his life he was an invalid, suffering from nervous 
prostration, sui)erinduced by the loss of his son. Ik- 
died March 6, 1892. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



133 



WILLIAM HENRY WEBB. 

William Henrv Webb, the famous ship-builder of the 
metropoUs, was born in New York City on June 19, 18 16, 
being descended on the father's side from some of the 
oldest of New England settlers, and on the mother's side 
from Huguenot parentage. The Webbs played an im- 
portant part in colonial history, one of them being present 
with General Wolfe at the taking of Quebec, while several 
of them were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Lsaac 
Webb, Mr. Webb's father, was a great ship-builder in his 
day, and his son naturally took to the profession, though 
against his father's wish. He was educated in the Colum- 
bia College Grammar School, where he showed unusual 
mathematical abilit\-. Yet as a boj' he loved to play 
around his father's ship-yard, and at the age of twelve 
built a small skiff with his own hands. Before he was 
fifteen he had built other boats, one of them a small 
paddle-boat. Despite his father's disapproval, he per- 
sisted in studying naval architecture, and while still an 
apprentice began the building of five vessels under 
sub-contract with an older apprentice named Town- 
send. These included several oceanic packet-ships. 

He was then only twenty-three, and had worked so 
hartl and unremittingly as to feel the strain severely. 
He therefore felt it necessary to take a period of rest and 
change of scene, and was in Europe, spending his time 
in inspecting docks and ship-yards, when, in 1840, the 
news of his father's death reached him. He hastened 
home, found the business in a condition not much to his 
satisfaction, and at once formed a partnership with Mr. 
Allen, his father's partner. This lasted only till 1843, 
when the whole business fell into young Webb's hands, 
and from that time forward its success was phenomenal. 

His first labor was in the building of ten vessels for 
new parties, — not former patrons of the yard, — and his 
business increased and widened till, by the time of his 
retirement from active work in 1S69, he had built in all 
one hundred and fifty vessels, among them being packets 
in the London, Liverpool, and Havre trade, ocean steam- 
ships, and war-vessels of the greatest tonnage known to 
that time. The output of his yard was unequaled in ton- 
nage by any other yard of the period either in this country 
or abroad, and on his retirement he was one of the largest 
ship-owners in the United States. 

We cannot attempt to name the many great vessels 
constructed by Mr. Webb. The " California," the first 
steamer that entered the Golden Gate of San Francisco, 
was built by him, as well as nearK' all the Pacific Mail 
Company's steamers. His first war-vessel, the " General- 
Admiral," was built for Russia. It was launched in 1858, 
and proved to be the swiftest war-vessel set afloat up to 
that time. Its model has since been widely copied, and 




has revolutionized the build of war-vessels of that de- 
scription. The Russian government received her with 
enthusiasm, and presented Mr. Webb a gold bo.\ encir- 
cled with diamonds and adorned with other precious 
stones. Orders came from other countries in Europe, a 
large one from Spain, — which, however, was canceled on 
threat of a civil war, — and subsequently an order from 
Italy for two iron-clad screw frigates, the " Re d'ltalia" 
antl " Re di Partogallo." These were the first iron-clads 
built in this country that crossed the Atlantic, and were 
of unusual speed for that date. Victor Emmanuel was 
so pleased with them that in 1876 he conferred on Mr. 
Webb the Order of St. Maurice and Lazarus, one of the 
most coveted orders of knighthood in Europe. 

Mr. Webb's ne.xt great achievement was the building of 
the iron-clad " Dunderberg" for the American government. 
The war was at an end, however, before its completion, 
and having recci\-ed a magnificent offer for it from the 
French go\ernment, he succeeded in having his contract 
with this government canceled, and sold it to France. 
There it was christened the " Rochambeau," and remains 
to-day one of the most formidable war-vessels in the world. 

Mr. Webb was one of the original and largest share- 
holders in the Panama Railroad Company, but sold out 
his interest in 1872 at a large advance. He was thrice 
offered nomination for major of New York, by different 
political parties, but in every case declined. His greatest 
public achievement was the overthrow of the Aqueduct 
Commission, b\- whicli millions of dollars were saved to 
New Y^ork. The last, and one of the best, act in his 
career was the founding of Webb's Academ\- and Home 
for Ship-builders, a noble institution for the teaching of 
ship-building to young men free of coat, in the establish- 
ment of which he expended more than S2,000,ooo. 



18 



134 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAMES RIDLEY TAYLOR, M.I). 

Of Dk. Jami--s Ridley T.wi.or we liaxf the unLisiial 
story to tell that he entered the medical profes.sion after 
middle life, at the end of a Ioiilj career pa.ssed in the pur- 
.siiit of mechanical .science, and marked b\- the production 
of various useful nnentions. I le was a nati\'e of Scotland, 
hi.s father iia\in<( been a teacher in the Ajt Academy, 
in which well-known institution the careers of se\cral 
eminent men had their source, among them the late 
President McCosh, of Princeton College, New Jersey. 
Skill in mechanics is hereditary in the Taylor family, Dr. 
Taj-lor's uncle, John Taylor, of Dalswinton, Dumfries- 
shire, having, in connection with the iin entor SNiiiinglon, 
constructed a marine engine and conducted successful 
experiments in steam navigation on Dalswinton Lake as 
early as 1785, years before Fultnn de\oted his attention 
to the same object. 

Dr. Taylor's father was poor, and was the father of 
nine children. Mc had it in \iew that his son James 
should enter the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, 
but the cnter|)rising youth, not wishing to be an expense 
to his parent, determined to seek his own fortune, and, 
just fifty-five years ago, landed as a \(iung ni.m in 
Canada with this |)urpose in view. lie had no trade, 
and worked for some time as an untrained laborer, but 
with an energy and ability that cpiickly gained the con- 
fidence and good-will of his emplo\-ers, while his me- 
chanical talent quickly indicated itself 

The young adventurer was too ambitious, and too well 
aware of iiis own powers, to remain long in so subordi- 
nate a position, and before long lumg out a sign for him- 
self as mechanical engineer, despite the fact that he was 
largely destitute of technical knowledge of or experience 
in mechanics. Orders soon came to him, however, and 
he began to make money. It was not long before his 



marked faculty ft)r in\ention displayed itself, and his 
business developed until, a few years before the out- 
break of the ci\'il war, he found himself at the head of 
the ALarine Iron Works, in Goereck Street, New York 
City. Here he was on the high-road to fortune. As 
president of the Bo.ird of Iron I'ounders of New York 
he became known throughout the whole countr\-, while 
his fine ability as an engineer was everywhere acknowl- 
edged, and his opinions on difficult mechanical problems 
were eagerl)' sought by ship-builders and engineers. 
Among the improvements in mechanical appliances 
made b\' Dr. Ta\-lor may be mentioned those in con- 
nection with the petroleum industry, for the clarifying 
and preparing for market this \aluable natural product. 
His works for this pur[)ose were at Seventeenth .Street 
and the East Ri\er. They were not rim long. Fire 
swept them away, and they were not rebuilt. 

Dr. Ta_\-lor, Iii)\\e\er, is best known in the wnrld of 
mechanics for his \aluable improvements in machiner)- 
in connection with ships' anchors. These were origi- 
nated, indeed, by Thomas Brown, a captain in the British 
nav}', who came to this country in 1X53. Dr. Taylor 
purchased the patents and doubled their \alue by his 
improvements. The}- were early adoi)ted in the British 
navy, and in the American na\)- in 1S56, and there is now 
no naval \essel or large steamer which is not equip[K'tl 
with Taylor's devices for raising and lowering anchors. 

Dr. Taylor retired from business with a fortune in 
1866. In 1867, after a journey to Europe, he organized 
the East River Improvement Association for the removal 
of the rocks at Hell Gate. This, as is known, has been 
accomplished. But the most interesting part of his 
career is his stud\- of medicine. He became interested 
in this science in 1870, when his son, now Dr. Robert 
Ta_\-lor, was .ittending lectures at Belle\ lie College. The 
father at once entered the college, where he stmiied 
especially orthopedic surgery, a field of ])ractice in har- 
mony with his mechanical turn of miiul. He graduated 
in 1874, ami afterwards studied at Dartmouth College, 
Hanover, New 1 lampshire, where he also graduated. 
From that time forward he was actively engaged in sur- 
geiy, becoming assistant to the chair of clinical and 
operative surgery in Bellexue Hos{)ital, and surgeon to 
its bureau of medical and surgical relief to the out- 
door poor. I le w ;is ;i member of the American Medical 
Association, of the New York Count)' Medical .Societ\', 
and the East River Medical Association, antl h'ellow of 
the New York Academy of Medicine. He did not .seek 
jjrivate practice, but devoted himself to philanthropic 
service. He was a pojiular member of the Lotos Club, 
and was skilled in the use of the artist's pencil. In addi- 
tion, he contributed valuable papers to the medical jour- 
nals, including " Fractures of the Long Bones and their 
Treatment " and others. He died March, 1895. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



135 



ETHAN FLAGG. 

Ethan Flagg, for years one of the most prominent 
citizens of Yonkers, New York, was born in West Hart- 
ford, Connecticut, July 20, 1 820, his mother, Lydia Wells 
Flagt^, being a niece of Lemuel Wells, the last proprietor 
of tlie old manorial estate of Frederick Philipse. After 
his period of education, Mr. Flagg became connected with 
a mercantile house in Boston, with which he remained 
for two years, gaining there a satisfactory' knowledge of 
business affairs. Thence he removed to Yonkers, of 
which he remained a citizen during the remainder of his 
life. At that time this place was but a village settlement, 
at the mouth of the Nepperham, but IVIr. Flagg was 
convinced from the beginning of his residence there that 
it presented excellent opportunities for development, and 
he saw in its promise of progress a good field for his 
own business career. 

Judicious purchases in the vicinity brought him in time 
into the possession of a considerable portion of the old 
Philiiise manor above mentioned, formerly belonging to 
his grand- uncle ; and, largcl}- through his suggestion and 
personal activity, the city of Yonkers of to-day was laid 
out and its growth stimulated. While thus engaged in 
the advantageous development of his estate and of the 
city with whose progress his own career was identified, 
he was equally solicitous for the progress of the place 
in its mental antl moral aspects. E\-er\- institution that 
seemed likel}' to inure to the advantage of Yonkers in 
this direction was liberally and actively supported by 
him, he giving both personal service and financial sup- 
port to e\'ery public-spirited enterprise. 

From time to time he was chosen by his fellow-citizens, 
who held him in high respect and esteem, to fill the 
principal positions connected with the government of the 
village and the subsequent city. Among tlie offices thus 
held by him were those of membership in the original 
board of trustees of the village, of alderman and member 
of the common council of the city, of member and sub- 
sequently president of the board of water commissioners, 
and on se\eral occasions of membership in the board of 
supervisors of Westchester Count)-. In political opinion 
lie was an earnest supporter of the Republican party, 
though by no means a partisan when an\- question of 
patriotism and public duty arose. During the civil war 
no man gave more hearty support to the go\ernment 
than he, particularly in regard to the steps taken towards 
a mitigation of the horrors of warfare. 




In the business affairs of Yonkers he played an active 
part, being, while never rash, never so cautious as to 
endanger success. The First National Bank of the city 
was fostered by him, he being a member of its board of 
directors from its origin. The same may be said of the 
Yonkers Savings Bank, which he served as president 
from its inception till the time of his death. In his 
business relations he was distinguished alike for sound 
judgment in the management of affairs and for acute 
discrimination concerning the characters of the men with 
whom he was brought into contact. Natively honorable 
in all his doings, he looked for and honored integrity in 
others, while not exposing himself to being \ictimized 
by those of untrustworthy character. 

Mr. Flagg, shortly after his arrival at Yonkers, took 
part in the efforts making to found a church of the 
Dutch Reformed religious society at that place. A few 
years later he became as actively interested in the build- 
ing of the First Presbyterian Church, to which he gave 
liberally, and aided it by his advice and personal efforts. 
The valuable plot of ground on which it stands was his 
exclusi\-e gift, while he contributed largely in money to 
its erection and subsequent support. He delighted in 
works of practical bene\olence, and one of the most 
prominent traits in his character was the desire to help 
men who proved willing to help themselves. Man\- of 
the inore prosperous citizens of the place have him to 
thank for their first start in life. Mr. Flagg died in 
Yonkers, October 1 1 , 1 884. 



136 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN DAVID WOLFF. 

John David WoLi-ii, nicrclKint and pliilantliropist, was 
born in Xcw York City, July 24, 1792, bcint; the grand- 
son of John David W'olfc, who emigrated from Saxony 
to America early in the past century. His father, David 
Wolfe, served, witli his brotlicr Christopher, through tlie 
Revolutionary War, a portion of the time as quarter- 
master in Washington's army. Afterwards he became 
a hardware merchant, at the corner of Maiden Lane and 
Gokl Street, New York. This business his son inherited, 
and conducted at first in partnership with his cousin 
Christopher, and afterwards with Mr. Bishop, under the 
firm-name of Wolfe & l?ishop. 

As a business man Mr. Wolfe proved highly successful, 
while the real estate in which he invested his savings was 
so judiciously chosen as rapidly to increase his wealth. 
The result was that at the age of fifty lie was enabled 
to retire from business with an ample fortune. He con- 
tinued to live for thirty years longer, devoting himself 
with warm-heated benevolence to the works of charity 
in which he had indulged from his earliest business life. 

Mr. Wolfe's benefactions were open-hearted and gen- 
erous, every worthy cause receiving aid from his hands ; 
but they were made wi.scly and with discrimination. 1 le 
considered fully the needs of in.stitutions and how they 
could best be met, gaining a satisfactory knowledge of 
the purposes, conditions, and management of every 
charity which he projiosed to aid financially. He was 
[)articularly interested in the relief of aged people and 



orphans, and in the amelioration of the condition of the 
inmates of jirisons; and was also earnestly interested in 
the causes of religion and education. Of the work done 
by him in this direction may be mentioned his founding 
of a high school for girls and " Wolfe's Hall, " at Denver, 
Colorado, a diocesan school for girls at Topeka, Kansas, 
and donations to Kenyon College and other educational 
institutions. He built a house for crippled and destitute 
children and for impoverished Christian men in Suffolk 
County, New York, and, w ith Mrs. Peter Cooper, founded 
the Sheltering Arms Charity, in New York Cit)-. He 
was president of the Working-women's I'rotcctiv e Union, 
vice-president of the New York Hospital, and officially 
connected with many other charitable institutions. 

In religious faith Mr. Wolfe was a member of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church, and was for a long time 
a vestryman of Trinity, after which he became senior 
warden of Grace Church. He prepared and distributed 
at his own e.\pense a " Mission Service" composed of 
extracts from the ]?ook of Common Prayer, which was 
highl}- commended antl translated into several lunopean 
languages. In all more than one hundred and thirty- 
thousand copies were circulated. His gifts to the Church 
were large, particularly to the dioceses of Nebraska, 
Colorado, and several other Western States, in some of 
which he supplied almost the entire educational .structure 
of the diocese. This work was clone so unostentatiously 
that few were aware of it. We have not space to mention 
in detail all the benevolent and public-spirited labors of 
Mi-. Wolfe, and may conclude by saying that he uas 
l^resident of the American Museum of Naluial Historj-, 
,ind was the most enthusiastic and efficient promoter of 
its objects. 

Mr. Wolfe was married to Dorothea A. Lorillard, 
daughter of the second Peter Lorillard. They had two 
daughters, of whom only one, Catharine Lorillard, sur- 
vived to aid and encourage her father in his benevolent 
purposes, and after his success to continue his benefac- 
tions with a freedom and wisdom not sur|)assed b\- those 
of her father. Mr. Wolfe personally was a man of the 
most amiable and lovable (pialities. At home he was 
(|uiet, kindly, and consiilerate, unruffled b\- domestic an- 
n()\-ances, and possessed a genial t<.ni[)erament which 
nothing seemed capable of disturbing. In these qualities 
his daughter, who was like him in attributes, sustained 
and encouraged him, being the comfort and help of his 
declining days. He died Ma\- 17, 1.S72, in his eightieth 
year. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



137 



ELISHA G. OTIS. 

Ei.isiiA G. Otis, the well-known inventof of the Otis 
Elevator, and the descendant of a faniil_\- which has 
pla\'ed a hitjhl\- important part in the liistory of this 
country, was born in Veimont, August 3, 1 81 1, his father, 
Hon. Stephen Otis, being a member of the Legislature 
of that State, and a man of distinguished abilit}-. His 
business was that of a farmer, and his son worked dili- 
gently on the farm until his nineteenth year of age, when 
he first began to turn his attention towards mechanical 
pursuits. 

About this time he left his home at Halifi^.x, Vermont, 
and made his way to Troy, New York, in which city he 
was engaged duiing the succeeding five years in building 
operations. While here, in June, 1834, he married Miss 
Susan A. Houghton, of Halifa.v, Vermont. Four }'ears 
afterwards he returned to Vermont, and there engaged 
in the manufacture of wagons and carriages, a line of 
business in which he continued till 1845. His wife died 
during this interval (in 1842), leaving two sons, Charles 
R. and Norton P. Otis. In Augu.st, 1846, Mr. Otis 
married again, his second wife being Mrs. Betsy A. Boyd. 

Shortly afterwards Mr. Otis removed to Albau)-, New- 
York, and there took a position in a large manufactory, 
in which he had charge of the construction of machinery. 
He continued thus engaged for four years, when he 
started a factory of his own. This undertaking proved 
unsuccessful, and he found himself obliged to give it up 
and accept a position offered him at Hudson City, as 
superintendent of a machinery works at that place. In 
1852, the year after his entering this establishment, its 
business was removed to Yonkers. Mr. Otis went with 
it, and here took entire charge of the machinery depart- 
ment of what was then called the " Bedstead Factory." 
He was also overseer of the erection of some of the 
buildings needed for the operations of the firm. 

While thus engaged, his inventi\'e powers became use- 
fully tasked. In the equipment of the factory it was 
found necessary to construct an elevator, and the build- 
ing of this Mr. Otis took in hand, developing some useful 
devices, of which the most important was one to prevent 
the fall of the platform in case the lifting rope should 
break. This idea, now recognized as indispensable to the 
safety of elevators, was then so novel as to enlist the 
favorable attention of some New York manufacturers, 
and Mr. Otis soon received an order for several of these 
machines for use in that city. In this modest waj' began 
that elevator business which has now assumed ei^antic 
proportions. 

For a number of )-ears afterwards Mr. Otis continued 




connected with the Bedstead Manufacturing Company, 
while building elevators as orders came in, and engaging 
in numerous other branches of mechanical industr}-. 
Eventualh- he left the service of the compan\-, and leased 
a part of their building, in which he began a general 
manufacturing business of his own. On the occasion of 
the World's Fair in New York he placed on exhibition 
a small elevator, containing the improvements he hatl 
made to that time. Here he attracted much attention 
by getting on the platform, running it up to some 
distance, and then cutting the supporting rope, demon- 
strating in this way that it did not depend on the rope 
for safet\-. In this wa\- the invention was brought 
strongly to public attention, orders began to come in 
more rapidly, and the demand increased until, at the time 
of the death of Mr. Otis, which took jilace in April, 1S61, 
it had become the principal branch of his manufacturing 
enterprise, and the Otis Elevator had won a wide-spread 
reputation. Its later history will be given in the biogra- 
phical sketches of his sons. 

Mr. Otis was a man of high mechanical and inventive 
ability, and of great energy and enterprise. Business 
was to him rather recreation than labor, and many of his 
most original ideas were worked out during his hours of 
leisure. His inventions were numerous, and several of 
them very ingenious and useful. Among these were an 
automatic steam plow, a rotary oven, and a bridge for 
carrying railroad trains across a river without a draw, 
}-et without impeding navigation. F"rom youth he enter- 
tained ardent temperance and anti-slavery views, and was 
an earnest member of the Methodist^Church. 



138 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




FRANK LHSLIE. 

The great New York jniblisliiiifj house of I'rank Leslie 
owes its inception to the enterprise and intelligence of a 
young Englishman, wlio had the quick judgment to per- 
ceive the wide field for illustrated journalism which la)- 
open in this country forty )-ears ago, and the energy to 
seize u]ion anil im|)rove the opportunit)\ Frank Leslie 
— or Henry Carter, to give hini his original name — was 
born in Ipswick, County of Suffolk, England, March 29, 
1 82 1, the son of Joseph Carter, a prosperous glove manu- 
facturer. The father intended young Henry for a com- 
mercial life like his own, and, after giving him a good 
ICnglish education in his native town, made a place for 
him in his glove factory. 

This occu[)ation proved repugnant to the ambitious 
youth, whose native inclination was for the life of an 
artist, and who, while still a boy, developetl unusual talent 
in this his predestined occupation, in which he did some 
highly creditable work while still at school. 

His father, however, opposed this predilection, whicii 
l(j his mind meant failure, and sent the boy, when seven- 
teen, to London, to enter a large dry-goods establish- 
ment kept by his uncle. Me could not have taken a 
more injudicious step for the accomplishment of his 
purpose. The young artist was not long in London be- 
fore he began to send sketches to the llliislratid Loudon 
Ncti'S, then just started, and the jjioneer among illustrated 
journals. These sketches were promptl)' accepted b)' 
the paper, and he soon became a regular contributor, his 
work bearing favorable comjiarison with that of such 
men as Linton and Landells. Mis sketches were signed 
" F>ank Leslie," a iiom dc crayon tiken b)- him from a 
favorite novel. Before he was of age he had quite cut 
loose from mercantile pursuits, and at the age of twenty 
was placed in charge of the engraving department of 



the Nctvs. Here he hail an admirable opportunity to 
improve himself in his chosen profession, and to gain a 
practical acquaintance with all the details in\ol\ed in the 
publication of an illustrated newspaper. 

The young artist, after remaining for some years in his 
|)osition on the Aviiv, developed an ambition to start an 
illustrated paper of his own, and with this purpose in 
view he crossed the ocean, in 1848, to New York, which 
he had selected as the best field for his projected venture. 
Here he found that the- fame of " F'rank Leslie" had 
preceded him, but nobody had heard of Henry Carter. 
This fact seriously interfered with his new purpose, and 
he finally found it desirable to adopt his noiit dc plume as 
his legal name, and became FVank Leslie by act of 
Legislature. This name he ever afterwards bore. 

Lacking capital, his carl\- experience in the New World 
was as an artist on the rather rude "picture papers" 
which then existeil, inchuling Glcasoii's Pictorial ^nd the 
Illustrated AVitV. Having vainlj^ sought a partner with 
money, he at length decided to start with no capital but 
his artistic skill, and on December 14, 1855, issued the 
first number of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Xc7i'S/>a/>er. 
Fie found himself at once in the midst of difTiculties, 
chief among them the lack of capital. But the tide 
soon turneti in his favor. Tiie paper was abh' conducteil, 
its illustrations were of a superior character, and its 
editor and proprietor was enterprising in presenting to 
the public pictures of the most interesting passing events. 
B\- the end of the civil war it was firmly established, and 
Mr. Leslie added to it from time to time other journals, 
including the Chimney Corner, the Boys' and Girls' 
Weekly, Pleasant Hours, Lady s Journal, Popular Monthly, 
Sunday Ma(^a:;ine, and Bndi^^et, all still flourishing. To 
these he added the Illustrirte Zeitung, a German pictorial 
paper, and three illustrated annuals. 

F'raiik Leslie deser\es to be entitled the founder of 
ilkistr.Ucd journalism in America. In atldilion to his 
rare merit as an artist and engra\er, he had excellent 
literary ideas, and knew just how to cater for the public. 
Me was master of the whole establishment, ami under- 
stood its every detail. Nothing could go wrong in any 
department but he was able to straighten it out at once. 

In 1877 a temporary embarrassment forced him to 
make an assignment for the benefit of his creditors. In 
1879 a tumor appeared in his neck, which could not be 
remo\-ed without severing the jugular \ein, and he died 
on the loth of January, 1880, almost his last worils being 
a request to his wife to " Go to my office, sit in my place, 
and do my work until m\' tlebts are paitl." It need 
scarcely be said that Mrs. F'rank Leslie has full)- carried 
out this wish of her dying husband, after a long succes- 
sion of obstacles, and has, by her subsequent success in 
business, fully demonstrated the abilit)- of a wonian to 
manage successfully great business interests. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




COMMANDER JONATHAN M. WAINWRIGHT. 

Commander Jonathan Mavhew Wainwkight was 
born in the cit}- of New York in July, 1821, and was 
killed in battle at Galveston Bay on January i, 1863. He 
was a son of the well-known prelate of the same name, 
so long the Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New York. 

Commander Wainwright entered the navy as a mid- 
shipman in June, 1837, and performed the usual sea-duty 
of his grade until, in 1842, he was ordered to the Naval 
School, then at Philadelphia. He became a passed mid- 
shipman in 1843, '" 1849 an acting master, and was com- 
missioned as lieutenant in September, 1850. His service 
in the " Lexington," " San Jacinto," " Saratoga," " Dol- 
phin," and other vessels did not differ from that of 
most junior lieutenants. Ne\er very robust, he managed 
always to do his duty well, and was a great fa\-orite with 
his messmates and shipmates on account of his pleasant 
manners and officer-like conduct. The outbreak of the 
ci\il war found him engaged in special duty at Washing- 
ton. He was ordered to the command of the " Harriet 
Lane," the well-known revenue-steamer which had been 
transferred to the navy. She became the flag-ship of 
Commander (afterwards Admiral) Porter, of the Mortar 
Flotilla, during the operations against the forts below 
New Orleans, and the capture of that city and the 
mouths of the Mississippi. He also, in the same \'essel, 
took part in the first operations against Vicksburg. In 
October, 1862, the " Harriet Lane"' took part in the cap- 
ture of Gal\-eston, as a part of Commander Renshaw's 
little squadron. Their tenure was not long, for on New 
Year's Day, 1863, the small squadron, some of which 
were ashore at low tide, was attacked by a Confederate 
force, which soon resumed control of the town and the 
bay. General Magruder had, for the water attack, fitted 
out three steamers with cotton-bale defences, and placed 
on board as man}- riflemen as could find room to act. 
The\' came down the ba\- at 4 a.m., and, as the " Harriet 
Lane" was the highest up, she was first attacked. Boarded 
by these vessels, swarming with sharp-shooters, the decks 
were swept b\- a shower of balls. Wainwright fell almost 
immediatel}-, at the head of his men, endeavoring to 
repel boarders. The executive-officer, Lea, was mortally 
wounded, and the next officer severely so. Half of those 
on deck were shot down, and in ten minutes the vessel 




was in the enemy's possession. A curious incitlcnt of the 
fight was, that young Lea's father was an officer on the 
Confederate side, and found his son in a d\-ing condition 
after possession was taken. 

To complete the tragedy. Commander Renshaw, of the 
" Westfield," and the senior officer present, was summoned 
to surrender under favorable conditions, which he might 
have done, as his vessel was unmanageable from the state 
of water at that time. This he refused, sending most of 
his crew on board an army transport which was afloat, 
and remaining, with a few people, to destroy the " West- 
field." L'Ufortunately, the flames spread so fast that she 
blew up just as they got into the boat, and Renshaw, his 
first lieutenant, Zimmerman, Chief Engineer Green, and 
about a dozen men, lost their lives. 

Commander Wainwright had a son, also named Jona- 
than Mayhew, who was appointed a midshipman the year 
his father was killed, and who graduated from the Na\al 
Academy in 1867. This young officer also lost his life 
by a rifle-shot only three }-ears after graduation. He had 
attained the rank of master, and was attached to the 
Pacific Squadron. In command of a boat expedition 
against the piratical steamer " Forward," in the lagoon at 
San Bias, he was shot in leading the boarders at her cap- 
ture, and died the next day. The attack was successful, 
and the vessel was captured and burnt. 



I40 



MAK/iRS OF NEW YORK. 




GEORGE W. QIUNTARD. 

GivoKdE W. QuiNiAKi), a ])i()minent and successful 
member of the business communit\- of New York City, 
was born at Stamford, Connecticut, April 22, 1822. For 
several generations preceding him his ancestors had 
resided in that town, and were among its most esteemed 
citizens, being notable alike for probity and intelligence. 
He received his education in the public schools of his 
native town, and at the age of fifteen, being anxious to 
engage in a business life, he made his wivy, in quest of 
employment, to New York. I Urc he was ([uickl}- suc- 
cessful, obtaining a jjosition in a leading groccr\- house 
of that city. He remained in this establishment during 
the succeeding five or six years, working industriously 
and faithfully in the interest of his employers, and saving 
what capital he could towards a business venture which 
he ambitiously designed for himself 

On reaching the age of manhood he left his employers 
and started on his own account, continuing for four years 
in trade with satisfactory success. At the end of that 
time, in 1847, ^^'ic-n but twenty-five years of age, he was 
admitted to partnershi|) in the manufacturing firm of 
T. F. Secor & Co., the proprietors of the Morgan Iron 
Works, of New York. This rapid advance was a just 
reward for his business ability and enterprise, and was 
followed three years later by his becoming, with Charles 
Morgan, sole proprietors of that large establishment. 
He married the daughter of Mr. Morgan, who was then 
and continued one of the most o|)ulent merchants and 
ship-owners of the metropolis. 



The control of the Morgan Iron Works fell into Mr. 
Quintard's hands in 1852, and during the succeeding 
fi\c years he was for most of the time sole manager of 
this, one of the largest manufacturing concerns in the 
country. During the period of the ci\il war he was 
in the highest confidence of the government at Wash- 
ington, was often consulted by the naval officials con- 
cerning the building of war-vessels, and built for the 
United States the largest number of men-of-war that 
was turned out in any single establishment in the coun- 
tr)'. Such was his rcjiutation as a marine builder, that 
in 1863 the Italian go\ernment intrusted to him the con- 
struction of the engines for the " Re il'Italia," one of 
the two great war-vessels which were ordered in New 
York. 

l'"roni 1861 to 1S64 he constructed numerous marine 
engines for United States war-ve.ssels, and a large nimiher 
for ships engaged in the merchant service. He also built 
engines for four large lake steamers, the largest on the 
lakes up to that time. His connection with the Morgan 
Iron Works ceased in 1S67, when he sokl his interest to 
John Roach. He shortly afterwards became president 
of the New York and Charleston Steamship Companj', 
the ]-)rincipal interest in which he had purchased, lie is 
still at the head of that corporation. 

In 1869 he engaged again in the iion business, be- 
coming interested in the (Juintard Iron Works, a large 
establishment for the manufacture of machinery and 
steam-engines. In this enterprise he was associated with 
James Murph)-, a very successful man in that branch of 
iiulustr)-. Mr. Murphy's son also became a member of 
the firm. This business is now owned and managed by 
Mr. N. 1'. Palmer. 

Besides the large business interests mentioned, Mr. 
Quintard has been associated in various other concerns. 
He is president of the New Fngland antl Nova Scotia 
Steamship Company, vice-president of the Kleventh Ward 
Bank, trustee of the Hastern Dispensary, and director of 
the New York, Lake Krie and Western Railroad Com- 
pany, of the Manhattan Life Insurance Company, and 
fif the Butchers' and Drovers' Bank. To each of these 
corporations he gives much attention. 

|-"ew n)en ha\e takt-n a more active interest th.ui he in 
institutions of practical benex-olence, while in the hand- 
ling of the large and \arious business affairs which ha\e 
come under his control his manageuuiit has been beyond 
reproach and his integrity throughout his career uncpies- 
tioned. Few men have been more enterprising than he, 
and few more successful. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



141 



JOHN A. STEWART. 

John Aikman Stewart, formerly Assistant Treasurer 
of the United States at New York, and for many years 
president of the United States Trust Company of that 
city, was born in New York, August 22, 1822. His 
father was of Scottish birth, emigrating to this country 
while quite young and settling in New York, where he 
was for many years a ward assessor and afterwards 
receiver of taxes. 

Mr. Stewart was educated at first in a public school of 
New York, and afterwards entered Columbia College, 
where he graduated in 1840, having taken the literary 
and scientific course of study in that institution. In 
1842, being then twenty years of age, he was appointed 
clerk of the Board of Education, a position which he 
retained till 1850, when he became actuary of the United 
States Life Insurance Company. In 1853, the United 
States Trust Company of New York was chartered by 
the State Legislature, mainly in consequence of his efforts, 
and he resigned his former position to accept that of 
secretary of this new financial institution. 

He remained in this position until 1864, gaining such 
confidence and respect for his ability in finance, that in 
June of the latter year a pressing request was tendered 
him by President Lincoln and Mr. Fessenden, Secretary 
of the Treasury, to accept the post of Assistant Treasurer 
of the United States at New York. This office had 
previously been tendered him by Secretary Chase, and 
declined. But, now that the war was at its height and 
the national finances in a state of jeopardy, while public 
confidence was wavering, he accepted, though at much 
personal sacrifice, and continued to discharge the onerous 
and responsible duties of the position with much satis- 
faction to the government until the end of the war. At 
this period Mr. Lawrence, president of the United .States 
Trust Company, resigned his position, and Mr. Stewart 
was unanimously elected to succeed him. He accord- 
ingly withdrew from tlie Assistant Treasurership, which 
no longer so strongly needed his services, and accepted 
the presidency offered him. 

During the many years which have elapsed since 
that date Mr. Stewart has continued to discharge the 
duties of his responsible position in a manner which has 
proved highly profitable to the compan\' and accept- 
able to its board of directors. Under his control the 
company has become the largest of its kind in Amer- 
ica and possesses the greatest value in assets. A trust 
compan\- with a capital of $2,000,000, a surplus of 
$9,000,000, deposits of $40,000,000, and in gross as- 
sets of $50,000,000, has certainly attained a foremost 
position among the moneyed institutions not only of 




this country but of the world. Its building, Nos. 45 
and 47 Wall Street, is built of massive granite in the 
Romanesque style of architecture, and is of grand and 
highly attractive proportions. 

Mr. Stewart's marked success in business is due no 
less to his acti\ity and energy than to his integrity and 
frankness in all business dealings. No man in America 
has a higher record than he in these essentials of success. 
Persistent effort, tact and ability, unfaltering honesty in 
all dealings, and respect for obligations are qualities 
which can scarcely fail to command success ; and it is to 
these that Mr. Stewart owes at once his financial position 
in the community and the confidence and respect of all 
with whom he has business relations. 

He is prominenth- itlentified with many institutions of 
the cit)-, being a director in the Merchants' National Bank, 
the Bank of New Amsterdam, the Greenwich Savings 
Bank, the Equitable Life Assurance Societj', and the 
Liverpool and London Globe Insurance Company. He 
is also a director in the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, 
a trustee of the John P". Slater P'und, and an active 
trustee of Princeton College, which position he has held 
for many years. He belongs to the Metropolitan and 
the Union League Clubs, his membership in the latter 
indicating his political affiliation with the Republicans. 
Originally he was Democratic in views, but during the 
civil war he warmly supported President Lincoln's ad- 
ministration, and has since, though not an extreme high- 
tariff man, remained a believer in the leading principles 
of the Republican party. He married, in 1845, Miss 
Sarah Y. Johnson, of New York, who died in 1886. In 
1S90 he married Mary O. Capron, of^Baltimore. 



19 



142 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



I 




ORLANDO B. POTTF.R. 

Oki.ando Bkonson Pottkk was boni at C'liai Iciiiont, 
Massachusetts, March lO, 1823, being descended through 
both parents from early Puritan ancestors. 1 le worked 
on his fatlier's farm at Charlcmont till sixteen years of 
age, having largely the management of the farm during 
the last six years, his father being frequentl)- absent 
through attention to public business. Between the ages 
of sixteen and eighteen he prepared himself for college, 
working on the farm meanwhile during the busy season. 
In 1841 he entered Williams College, where he stood 
high in his classes, but was forced, through ill health and 
lack of funds, to leave without graduating. He after- 
wards taught school for a time, and, having resolved to 
study law, he obtained the necessary funds by teaching a 
class of young ladies and by diligently cultivating several 
acres of ground. With the money thus earned he en- 
tered the Harvard Law School in i.S45,and continued to 
study till 1848, teaching school at inter\als and li\iiig 
with the greatest econonn- till his graduation, lie was 
admitted to the bar in 1 848. 

Mr. Potter at once opened two offices, one in ]5oston 
and one in. South Reading, ten miles out, attending the 
former during the day and the latter in tiie evenings. 
He was successful from the start, and soon had a paying 
])ractice. In 1852 he defended William O. Grovcr and 
William I^. Baker, two young men engaged in the sewing- 
machine business, against an unjust claim, and soon after 
became a member of the firm of Grover, Baker & Co., 
whose financial and legal management fell into his hands. 
In these directions he was so successful as to make the 
business of the firm the most profitable in that branch <if 
manufacture at the time. 

In 1853 he removed to New York to establish the 
business there, and in 1854 obtained a ciiartcr for the 



Grover & Baker Sewing-Machine Company, of which he 
became and continued the president until the close of the 
active bu.siness of the company in 1876, after which lime 
he ceased all connection with manufacturing or commer- 
cial business. 

During his whole period of residence in New York, 
Mr. Potter was actively interested in the growth of the 
city, constructing under his personal superintendence man)- 
large stores and warehouses, while he was equally acti\e 
in financial affairs. In the latter direction the credit 
belongs tn him of originating our existing natiunal hank- 
ing system. ImmediatcK- after the battle of Bull Run, 
Mr. Potter, realizing the unsatisfactory condition of the 
State banking s)-stem then in existence and its inability to 
support the government finances during the war, wrote 
an exhaustive letter to the Sccretar\- of the Treasur)-, in 
which he strongly advocated a national sj'stem of bank- 
ing, and outlined a plan under which it ci>ukl be con- 
ducteil. This plan, after careful consideration and dis- 
cussion, was made the basis of the National Banking 
Act, passetl h_\- Congress in February, 1863. 

Mr. Potter was a Whig before the war, but became 
identified with the Democratic party in 1861. In 1878 
he ran for Congress for the tenth congressional district 
of New York, but was defeated. In 1882 he was elected 
for the eleventh district, and ser\ed in Congress till 1884, 
doing duty on a number of important committees, and 
among other measures strongly supporting the adeiiuate 
pay of American consuls, the acquisition by this go\ern- 
mcnt of the Nicaragua Canal route, and the carrying of 
the foreign mail from .md to this coiuitr\- in American 
ships. He declined renomination for Congress in 1884. 

In 1886 there was a movement in New Yoik for the 
election of a mayor who should be independent of jiarty 
politics. The nomination was offered b}- a unanimous 
vote of the ct)mmittee to Mr. Potter, but he declined ; and 
on the subsequent nomination of A. S. Hewitt ga\e him 
his hearty support. In 1 889 he was chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Transportation of the Centennial Celebration of 
the Inauguration of W'ashington. In 1889, Williams Col- 
lege conferred on him the honorary degree of LL.D. 

He was marrieil in 1850 to Martha G. Wiley, and after 
the death of his wife was married to Mary K. Linsl)', of 
New York. He was affiliated with many New York so- 
cieties, including the Democratic, Reform, and Patria 
Clubs, the Civil Service Reform Association, and the Bar 
Association. In 1870 he purchased a farm on the Hud- 
son, above Sing Sing, where he made liis summer home, 
and interested himself activel)- in agricultural matters. 
Much of the milk and other products of the farm made 
their wa)- to the sick and poor of New York, while each 
summer he brought |)oor children from the cit)' for a 
period of recreation on the farm. He died suddenly on 
January 2, 1894. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



143 



HALCYON SKINNER. 

Halcyon Skinnek, noted for liis career as an inventor, 
was born at Mantua, Ohio, March 6, 1824, being the son 
of Joseph Skinner, formerly of Springfield, Massachusetts, 
a man of great mechanical ability and inventive talent, 
and the deviser of a set of machines of the greatest 
utility in the construction of violins. These were adapted 
to form with speed and accuracy the parts of these instru- 
ments, one of them being a mechanical device for cutting 
wood into thin strips for the sides of violins. This was 
so successful that he adapted the principle in a machine 
for cutting veneers for general use. 

While the father was thus engaged in inventive work, 
the son was attending school in winter, and employing 
his summers in farm-work and mechanical labor. In 
1838 the father removed to Westchester County, New 
York, where he entered upon the making of violins suc- 
cessfully until 1845, when a fire destroyed his factoiy, 
with all its machines and stock. 

The son now went to work as a carpenter, and con- 
tinued thus engaged until 1849, when he met a carpet 
manufacturer named Alexander Smith, who was at that 
time experimenting in dying parti-colored yarns to be 
used in ingrain-carpet weaving. The purpose was to 
dye the skeins in several colors in such a manner that 
in weaving each color should come into its proper place, 
so as to avoid the defective coloring of carpets of this 
character. The difficulty lay in the d\^ing apparatus, and 
as Mr. Skinner was known to be a skillful mechanic, Mr. 
Smith engaged him to construct machinery suitable to 
the purpose intended. 

The task was not an easy one, and much planning be- 
came necessary, but by the spring of 1 850 Mr. Skinner 
had overcome the difficulty of the work intrusted to him, 
and it became possible to dye the yarns satisfactorily. 
The new carpets woven from these yarns met with quick 
favor, and Mr. Smith's business rapidly increased. In 
1855, Mr. Skinner was asked to invent some process by 
which Axminster or tufted carpets could be woven on a 
power-loom. In this he was measurably successful, and 
in 1856 a patent was taken out for a loom which, though 
imperfect, was highly promising. He continuct! to im- 
prove it till i860, by which time he had quite o\crcome 
all its defects, and in the succeeding }-ear built one of 
these new looms for exhibition at the London World's 
Fair of 1862. 

In January, 1862, the works were destroyed by fire, 
the new loom alone escaping. This Mr. Skinner took to 
the fair, where it attracted much attention from the trade. 
On his return to America he devoted himself to the 




invention of a power-loom for wea\'ing ingrain carpets. 
In 1864 the factory was once more destroyed b}- fire, but 
fortunately the building containing the new looms was 
again saved. The business was now removed to Yonkers, 
and a building erected for the manufacture of tapestry 
carpets. Looms were obtained from Massachusetts, and 
others imported from England, but they were so clumsy 
and imperfect that Mr. Skinner's ingenuity was again 
enlisted in the attempt to make them suitable for the 
work. He was quite successful in this, aiul followed 
it by the production of a loom for wea\'ing moquette 
carpets, which, while nearly equal to Axminster, could 
thus be produced at considerabl)' less cost. He was 
equall)' successful in this with his former inventive labors. 
A large building was now erected for this branch of 
manufacture, and in 1878 the new looms were introduced 
into England and France, Mr. Skinner spending some 
time there in putting them into operation. On his return 
new patents were obtained, and by the end of 1882 the 
factory contained two hundred tapestry, one hundred 
and si.x moquette, and about thirty Axminster looms. 
Since then the business has been steaclil)- extended, new 
buildings erected, aiul the number of looms greatly 
augmented. The business, which is known as the Smith 
& Louis Carpet Company, is now the most extensive 
concern in Yonkers. It owes its existence to Mr. Skinner, 
whose inventions have given him a high rank among 
American mechanics. He is still closely identified with 
the business, which employs three thousand five hundred 
operatives, and turns out man}- million yards of carpets 
annually. 



144 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




S. M. PETTENGILL. 

S. M. PETTENfiiLL, onc of the leading advertising 
agents of tiiis country, began his business career in 
Boston in January, 1848, as a checking clerk and solicitor 
of advertisements for Voiney B. Palmer, the first ad\cr- 
tising agent in this country. At the end of that year he 
left Mr. Palmer's employment and accepteil a partnership 
u ith iiis brother in the Bridgeport Standard job office, 
being succeeded at Mr. Palmer's by the late S. R. Niies, 
advertising agent in Boston. Mr. Pettengill's partnership 
.soon ended, and in February, 1849, 'le started business 
for himself as a general advertising agent, at No. lO State 
Street, Boston. For the succeeding tiiirty years he con- 
ducted one of the most successful advertising agencies in 
the country. 

In 1 85 I he began the publication of a monthly news- 
paper called Pctteiti^iirs Rt/yortcr, devoted to the interests 
of publishers and advertisers in general, ami containing, 
among its items of interest, a list of all the newspapers 
published in the United States and Canada at that time 
so far as it could be obtained. It was sent to most of the 
new.spapers throughout the country. In May, 1852, he 
opened a branch office in New York, being induced to do 
so by tlie solicitation of Mr. Leiand, — who was then 
building the Metropolitan Hotel and proposed to adver- 
tise it extensively before opening, — and by similar in- 



ducements held out to him by other advertisers. He re- 
tained his interest in the Boston house, however, until 
1883, w-hen he sold out to Albert K. Pettengill, a gentle- 
man distantly related to him. The firm-name there still 
remains Pettengill & Co. 

Shortl)' after Mr. Pettengill came to New York he 
received a handsomely engrossed written testimonial, 
signed by about thirty of the leading business firms of 
Boston, expressing their confidence in him as a man and 
their satisfaction with his management of their advertising 
business, and recommending him to the support of the 
merchants of New York. This greatly encouraged and 
assisted him in his New York enterprise. It was framed 
and hung in a prominent place in his office, where it re- 
mained till January 31, 1882, when Park Row was swept 
by fire and Mr. Pettengill's office was burned out. 

He began business in New York at No. 122 Nassau 
Street, whence he removed in 1854 to No. 119, and sub- 
sequently into the Park Row office above mentioned. 
Here he became not only the leading advertising agent 
of the country, but from i860 to 1880 was almost with- 
out a rival, and numbered among his customers all the 
prominent advertisers of the country. Among his most 
enterprising customers was Mr. Robert Bonner, a young 
printer who had been at work on the Ilcrahi and the 
Mirror, and who purchased, shortly after Mr. Pettengill 
came to New York, an advertising commercial newspaper 
called the Mcrcliaiits' Ledger. This, in the fall of 1854, 
he changed into the famous New York Ledger, convert- 
ing it into a family story paper, and engaging the best 
known writers of the land as contributors. He at once 
began a very active advertising effort, selecting Mr. Pet- 
tengill as his agent, and tluring many years afterwards 
gave annually a very large amount of advertising patron- 
age to this house. 

The esteem in which Mr. Pettengill was Meld i)y his 
patrons am! friends was well deserved. He was a man of 
engaging personality ami the strictest commercial honor. 
I*"or many years he was a devout member of Plymouth 
Church, and one of the men on whom Mr. Beecher most 
relied. He married Miss Georgiana H. Bacon, of Brook- 
1)11, in which city he long resided, and where he died in 
April, 1891, leaving a large estate to his widow, — he had 
no children. Mrs. Pettengill still makes her home in 
Brooklyn. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



145 



CORNELIUS NEVIUS HOAGLAND. 

Cornelius Nevius Hoagland was born in Hills- 
borough Town, Somerset County, New Jersey, Novem- 
ber 23, 1828; eldest son of Andrew, and a descendant in 
the seventh generation from Christoffel Hoagland. This 
sturdy pioneer of the family was born in Holland in 
1634, and his name first appears on the records of the 
Burgomaster and Schepens Court in 1655, his first name 
being shortened to " Stoffel." In 1661 he married 
Catrina Creiger, daughter of Captain Creiger, a noted 
officer under Keift and Stuyvesant. 

In 1837 Andrew emigrated to Miami Count)', Ohio, 
and Cornelius, the subject of this sketch, began the study 
of medicine in 1845, when seventeen years of age. During 
the winter of 1848-49 he attended his first course of lect- 
ures at Starling Medical College, at Columbus, Ohio, and 
graduated from the Medical Department of the Western 
Reserve University, at Cleveland, Ohio, in the spring of 
1852. 

In 1854 he was elected county auditor, and re-elected 
in 1856. At this date he was a private in a militia com- 
pany, the " Lafayette Blues" of Troy, Ohio, and at the 
outbreak of the war \olunteered in a company from 
that place, which compan\- became Company H in the 
Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On the organization 
of the company he was elected first lieutenant. On the 
expiration of the three months for which the troops 
were called, he re-entered the service for three years. 

Soon afterwards he was detailed as acting assistant 
commissary of subsistence at Camp Dennison, Ohio. 

In October, 1861, he was commissioned surgeon of the 
Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, then being re- 
cruited at Camp Tod, Troy, Ohio. He accompanied his 
regiment to Paducah, Kentucky, in the spring of 1862, 
participated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing in April, 
after which he served with a detachment of his regiment 
in garrison at Clarksville, Tennessee, and later at Galla- 
tin. At this latter place his health gave waj', and his 
resignation was tendered and accepted. In appreciation 
of Dr. Hoagland's character and services, the officers of 
the regiment at this time presented him with a sword, 
which he preserves with great pride. Upon the re- 
turn of his health, at the request of the officers of the 
Seventy-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, he was reap- 
pointed surgeon, and continued as such to the close 
of the war. 

Soon after rejoining his regiment he was appointed 
surgeon in charge of the hospital at Gallatin, Tennessee. 
Some months later, upon his request, he was relieved 
from this duty and joined his regiment at Decherd, Ten- 
nessee. 

In the fall ot 1864 his regiment was ordered to tiie front 
at Atlanta, becoming part of the Second Brigade, Third 
Division, Fourth Corps. Shortly afterwards Dr. Hoag- 




land was appointed chief surgeon of the brigade, on the 
staff of Colonel P. Sidney Post, which position he occu- 
pied during the remainder of his services. At the battle 
of Nashville, on the 16th of December, 1864, he was 
.seriously injured by a Minie-ball in the breast. 

After this battle the brigade followed Hood's forces 
out of the State, and went into winter-quarters at Hunts- 
viile, Alabama. Pearly in the spring they went to P'ast 
Tennessee, and were at Greenville, the home of Andrew 
Johnson, when Abraham Lincoln was shot. In Jul\-, 
1865, the Fourth Corps, with others, was sent to Te.xas 
via river steamer to New Orleans, thence by steamer 
across the Gulf, landing at Indianola, and by march to 
San Antonio. In November they were mustered for dis- 
charge, and ordered to Columbus, Ohio, where they were 
discharged in the first week of January, 1866. Soon after 
the close of the war Dr. Hoagland engaged in the manu- 
facture of baking-powder, and is now the president of the 
Cleveland Baking-Powtlcr Compan}-, of New York. 

In 18S7 he founded in Brooklyn the "Hoagland 
Laboratory," instituted for the pursuit of original re- 
search in the higher branches of medical science, bac- 
teriology, pathology, and physiology being the principal 
departments. The cost of this institution, with equip- 
ments, exceeded one hundred thousand dollars, to which 
he subsequently added fift)- thousand dollars as an endow- 
ment fund. 

Dr. Hoagland is a fellow of the Royal Microscopical 
Society of London, life fellow of the American Geo- 
graphical Society of New York, the New York Genea- 
logical and Biographical Society, and the Long Island 
Historical Society. He is a member of the Military Order 
of the Loyal Legion, a regent of the Long Island College 
Hospital, and trustee and director of numerous financial 
and benevolent institutions. 



146 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM ASTOR. 

William Astok, son of William 15. and tjrandson of 
Jolin Jacob Aster, was boiii in New York City, July 12, 
1829. He received a co!le<jiate education at Columbia 
College, being distingnishcd at this institution for appli- 
cation and scholarship. Me was usuall)' at the head of 
his class, and graduated second, in the spring of 1849. 
.Subsequently he spent a period in foreign travel, in 
which he became particularly interested in Egj'ptian and 
Oriental scenery and antiquities. He ascended the Nile 
higher than was usual with tourists of that date, and 
became much interested in the scenery and associations 
of Palestine, Turkey, and Greece. 

When the ci\il war threatened the dissolution of the 
Union, Mr. Astor became an ardent supporter of the 
government, warmly favoring the emancipatinn nf the 
slaves, and manifesting an eager desire to enter the army, 
from which lie only desisted at the earnest and an.x'ious 
entreaties of his father. He organized a regiment at 
Rondout and a gun squad at Rhinebeck, the command 
of both of which organizations was offered him, and 
ileclined much against his own will, and in response to 
his father's solicitations. 

His .strong Union proclivities naturally drew him 
into the ReiJublican party, the special su]i]iort of the 
administration, and he continued to act with this party 
till his death, being particularly interested, after the 
war, in its labors in the cause of reconstruction. As 
a citizen he was always careful to exercise the duty 
of voting, but had no desire for public honors or 



official duties, his disposition being quiet and retir- 
ing. 

In 1873 Mr. Astor visited Florida, where he made a 
prolonged excursion in the " Ambassadress," the largest 
sailing yacht ever built, and explored the coast region 
of that -State, entering its baj's, inlets, and ri\ers, and 
gaining a broad acquaintance with its resources. 

This \isit aroused in him a strong interest in the ile- 
veloprncnt and fortunes of the State, and he took an 
active part in the operations against the Indians in the 
Everglades. He was appointed bj- the governor an aide 
on his staff, and organized a gun squad for operations 
against these unquiet wards of the government. He 
afterwards built a railroad from St. Augustine to Palatka, 
on the St. John's River, and invested in a large ])ro])erty 
in Jacksoinillc, erecting here a handsome block of i>uiUi- 
ings, which is still considered the finest in the cit\'. In 
recognition of these substantial services he recei\ed from 
the Legislature a grant of a large tract of land, and by 
way of honorary reward his name was given to the town 
of Astor on the St. John's, Lake Schermerhorn was 
named after his wife's family, and Armstrong after his 
cousin, the manager of his beautiful estate of " I-'ern- 
cliff," at Rhinebeck on the Hudson. An election as 
United States Senator fimn F'lorida was offered him, 
but declined. 

Mr. Astor was, when in New York City, a regular 
attendant at Trinit)- Church, anil contributed largely to 
church pur]ioscs, while his pri\'ate charities were numer- 
ous, but so unostentatious that none were aware of their 
extent. He was not particularly given to club life, though 
a member of several clubs and of the Masonic fraternity. 
His special enjoyment, indeed, was found in travel, j-acht- 
ing, and field sports, he being an enthusiastic de\'otee of 
the rod and gun. His country-seat, " Fernciiff," includetl 
both park and farm, and lu it Ik- ga\e much time and 
attention to farming and stock breetling, becoming the 
owner of famous breeding stables. His career as a 
patron of the turf, h(i\\e\'er, was not long continued. 
The greater \ym\. of his life, indeeil, was spent in travel, 
his business interests and estate being left to the care of 
his very competent manager Philip Kissam, who has been 
a trusted guardian of an Astor estate for three genera- 
tions. 

Mr. Astor was h,i])i)ily in.uiied lo C.iroline W'. Scher- 
merhorn, a descendant of one of the oldest Knicker- 
bocker families. He left five children, oiiK' one, John 
Jacob Astor, being a son. He died of pneumonia, April 
25, 1892. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



147 



JOHN JACOB ASTOR, 

FOURTH. 

John Jacob Astok, the fourth to bear that name, was 
born Jul}- 13, 1864, the son of William Astor and <^rcat- 
grandson of the founder of the family. He received his 
preliminary education at St. Paul's School, Concord, New 
Hampshire, and was subsequently entered at Harvard, of 
whose Delta Phi society he is still a member. After his 
graduation he followed the example of his father in 
making an extended European tour, like him spending a 
considerable time in Greece ami Turkey. Walking tours, 
with Athens as his head-quarters, made him familiar with 
many a classic locality. He also visited the North Cape, 
Norwav, where he made an extended sojourn. C)n his 
return to the United States he entered upon a course of 
American travel, visiting Cuba and Me.xico, wliere he 
studied the manners and customs of the inhabitants, and 
making se\eral expeditions for hunting purposes to the 
Rocky Mountain region, along the line of the Northern 
Pacific Raihoad, then in process of building. 

Mr. Astor's love of sport was no doubt inherited from 
his father, and in pursuance of it he has become a 
member of several societies devoted to out-door amuse- 
ments. Among these are the Riding, the Racquet and 
Tennis, tlie Country, the Tuxedo, and the New York 
Yacht Clubs. Of the various forms of enjoyment, he is 
particularly addicted to yachting, his large steam yacht, 
the " Nourmahal" (which had been a favorite with his 
father before him), being kept actively cruising from port 
to port during the summer months, under his personal 
direction. 

The breeding-stables at " Ferncliff," established by his 
father, are kept up by him, but instead of racers, hackney 
and carriage horses are now raised there. The cele- 
brated stallion " Confident Shot" is one of the treasures of 
his stables. His time, however, is not solely given to 
those employments, he attending daily to the interests of 
his great inherited estate when in New York City, while 
he is a director in numerous banks and trust companies. 
Like his ancestors he is modest and unassuming, but 
always ready to perform liis full duty as a citizen. 

In one direction Mr. Astor has shown a power not 
previously manifested in his family, that of invention, j 
several useful devices having been patented by him. One 
of these, which was shown at the Chicago Exhibition, is 
a machine to remove the worn-out material from roads 
before the new stone is laid down. It acts b\- means of i 
an air-blast, which blows off the pulverized stone after 
being crushed. This is likel)- to prove of great utility | 




in the macadamizing of countr\' roads, and has been 
highl}- conmicnded by the Scicittijic Anicricaii. An- 
other in\-ention, more ambitious but of more doubtful 
utility, is one for the inducing of rain. Its purpose is 
to move large volumes of surface air, by any suitable 
machiner)', and conve\' this air to the upper atmosphere 
through a conduit. It is the conception rather than the 
mode of operation to which he has so far confined him- 
self, he proposing to convey a volume of warm moist 
air to the colder and drier upper regions, and prevent it 
mingling with the atmosphere while ascending, with the 
belief that it will then discharge its moisture as rain. In 
addition to these mechanical conceptions Mr. Astor has 
recently entered the field of authorship, having published 
a novel entitled " A Journey in Other Worlds : A Ro- 
mance of the l-'uture," antl which is devoted to an ideal 
conception of the inhabitants of the planets Jupiter and 
Saturn. The work is curious and interesting, its plot 
being handled in a very original manner. 

Mr. Astor was married in 1891 to Miss Ava L. Willing, 
of Piiiladelphia, a descendant of a prominent family of 
the Quaker City whose ancestors came to this country 
with William Pcnn, and who still hold much of the 
original famil\- property. By this marriage two of the 
leading Knickerbocker and Quaker family stocks are 
united, Mr. Astor's mother being of the best blood of 
old Dutch New York. It may be said in conclusion that 
Mr. Astor is a member of many New York social 
clubs, including the Knickerbocker, the Union, the 
Metropolitan, and others, and the Society of the Colo- 
nial Wars. 



148 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




MURAT HALSTbAl). 

MuKAT Halstead, one of the best known of American 
journalists, is a native of Ohio, where he was born at 
Paddy's Run, Butler County, September 2, 1829. His 
father's family came from North Carolina, his grand- 
fatlier, Jolin Halstead, being a resident of Currituck, in 
that State, wlierc his father. Griffin Halstead, was born. 
The family subsequently emigrated to southwestern Ohio. 
His maternal grandfather, James Willits, was born near 
York, Pennsylvania, and emigrated to Ohio, where his 
mother was born on the site of the present town of 
Tarleton. His parents were married November i, 1827, 
near New Haven, Hamilton County, Ohio, where his 
motiicr's family resided. 

Mr. Halstead was educated at I-'armers' College, Ohio, 
where he graduated in 1851. He had previous!)- done 
some literary work, and now became connectctl with llu- 
Cincinnati Atlas, then with the Enquirer. Afterwanls he 
attempted a -hmday newspaper, and in 1852-53 worked 
on the Coluuibian and Grcnt West. He began liis con- 
nection with the Cincinnati Coiiinnrcial in 1853, first as 
local reporter, but soon as news editor. From his start 
in tliis field of labor lie displa)ed the powers which have 
since made him famous among the knights of tlu' pen. 
The opportunities for the display of genius in journalism 
were more plentiful before the war than they are to-da)-. 
In those days the editor made tiie paper, as Greeley the 
Tribune, Raymond the 7"/w<-.f, Watterson the Couricr-Joxr- 
nal, and Halstead the Covnncrcial, this paper never 
having been heard of beyond the hills of Cincinnati 
until vitalized by his trenchant editorials. It is still widely 



known as " Halstead's paper," despite the fact that it has 
changed hands, and is no longer occupied by articles 
from hi.s able pen. He purchased a part interest in the 
Commercial in 1854, and in 1867 gained complete control 
of the paper. For a time he managed it as an Indepen- 
dent sheet, but afterwards made it a Republican organ. 
In 1883 it became combined with the Gazelle under a 
company of which he was president. 

During the war Mr. Halstead became a power in the 
land. His criticisms of the conduct of the armies were 
so vigorous and just that they gained him the title of 
" Field-Marshal," a sobriquet which clings to him still. 
His keen militar}- dissections did not escape without 
bitter comment, but they alwa\-s commanded respect, 
and were certainly not without their influence upon the 
management of the forces in the field. For man\- years 
he was the leader of Republican journalism in the West, 
the two journalists most frecpiently quoted aiul liescribed 
in that quarter in those days being " Field-Marshal" 
Halstead ami "Henri" Watterson. Mr. Halstead was 
likened to a man who uses a bludgeon in attacking his 
foes, while Mr. Watterson was credited with using the 
rapier. Mr. Halstead, in truth, ne\cr played with words 
when he wished to make a point, and a point imce ukkIc 
by him was dri\en home to stay. 

Mr. Halstead was married in 1S57 to Miss Mar_\- 
lianks, of Cincinnati. They have had a fami!\- of twelve 
children, nine sons antl three daughters, of whom all are 
living with the exception of two sons. Among the events 
of his life may be named his presence with the German 
army during the Franco-Prussian War, in which he in 
company with Bismarck and King William was at the 
battle of Gravclotte. His accjuaintance with Prussian 
affairs led to his nomination by President Harrison in 
1 1889 to the important diplomatic post of ministir to 
]k-rlin. His honest and trenchant editorshi]) had, hou- 
e\er, maiie him enemies among the members t)f ins own 
party in the Senate, and the Democratic vote with two 
exceptions, and six Republican Senators defeated his 
confirmation. 

Five years ago Mr. Halstead came to Brooklj^n and 
took editorial charge of The Standard Union, a post 
which he still holds. I'or many months afterwards he 
continued to furnish editorial matter to the Cincinnati 
Commereial, but recently this jxiper has changed hands 
and his contributions to it have been discontinued. Mr. 
Halstead's style is as forceful as it ever was, and his new 
journal has gained a high staiuling under his masterful 
leadership. Personall\-, he is amiable and courteous in 
manner, gracious to his younger colleagues, and respected 
b)' all the ]>rofcssion. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



149 



LYMAN D. MORSE. ' 

The subject of this sketch, Mr. Lyman D. Morse, is 
a worthy member of a family which has given to the 
United States citizens active in science and invention, and 
prominent in law, the ministry, journalism, and states- 
manship ; and his own career gives evidence of inherited 
characteristics derived from the line of Samuel Morse, 
who left England in 1635 and became a prominent 
leader among the early Piiritan fathers in America. 

Mr. Morse is a native of Maine, his birthplace being 
the town of Paris, in that State. His boyhood was spent 
and his education obtained in Paris, his final course of 
study being in the O.xford Normal Institute of that town. 
Shortly after graduating from this institution he removed 
to Boston, Massachusetts, where he became connected 
with the eminent firm of Joseph Burnett & Co. It was 
during his fourteen years' experience with this firm, during 
which he traveled widely over the United States, that he 
gradually acquired the basis of the intimate knowledge 
of and acquaintanceship with the newspapers and peri- 
odicals of this country which now characterizes him as 
the foremost specialist in his line of business. In addi- 
tion to this, a faculty he has of making friends quickK' 
and impressing his individuality strongly on those whom 
he meets, caused him to make a most extended and 
valuable acquaintance with merchants and business men 
in all parts of the country. 

In 1872 Mr. Morse married a Brooklyn lad}-, and 
shortly afterwards went to London, England, where he 
resided for three years, establishing his business head- 
quarters there, and advertising and introducing American 
products in Europe. His natural talent in the direc- 
tion of liis present avocation, which had developed 
largely during his wide experience, combined with his 
intuitive grasping of all the circimistances which serve 
to make a publication of \alue, or otherwise, for advertis- 
ing purposes, singled him out as pre-eminently fitted for 
the business with which he has become so prominently 
connected ; and on his return to this country after his 
Pluropean experiences, the value of which proxed great 
in his after-career, he connected himself with Mr. J. H. 
Bates, then proprietor of the advertising agency which 
bore his name. 

The many years of association with Mr. Bates ev-entu- 
ated in Mr. Morse becoming the manager of the business, 
in which capacity he found full scope for his energy and 
abilities. Little by little Mr. Bates withdrew from acti\e 
labor, realizing that in his new manager he had one whose 
integrity and experience were such that the vast interests 
which were intrusted to his hands would be judiciously 
taken care of and augmented. And when afterwards 
Mr. Bates solidified his interests by taking Mr. Morse 
into partnership, the latter found himself the executive 
head of a business whose name had become a synon)m 




for integrity, honesty of dealing, straightforwardness, 
and good business methods. Some of the largest firms 
at home and abroad, who expend their millions to 
make the names of their goods household words, placed 
their confidential interests in his watchful care, and 
Mr. Morse directed this enormous stream of money, 
seeing to it that none ran to waste, but that every 
penny was spent in a painstaking, judicious, and profit- 
able manner. 

The agency in Mr. Morse's hands maintained the ex- 
cellent reputation of the firm, and the next important 
step taken by the partners was the permanent retirement 
of Mr. Bates, leaving Mr. Morse the sole owner of the 
establishment, which is now known as the Lyman D. 
Morse Advertising Agency, and one of the leading con- 
cerns of its kind on either side of the Atlantic. 

Mr. Morse is shrewd, quick-witted, with remarkable 
thoroughness of purpose, and has the faculty of instant 
decision, an important business instinct where large inter- 
ests must be decided in a moment. This faculty alone 
is sufficient to raise a man above his fellows, and no 
doubt to its possession is due a large portion of Mr. 
Morse's success in life. He combines the mature judg- 
ment of middle age with the vigor more properly belong- 
ing to a man of fewer years. 

He is very genial and warm-hearted, a fact to be testi- 
fied to by man\- a less fortunate " brother," as well as 
b\' those who know him in his domestic relation in his 
handsome Brooklyn home or at his delightful country 
residence at Twilight Park. At liis clubs — the Union 
League and Lincoln of Brooklj-n, and the Press Club 
or the Hardware of New York — he is known as a whole- 
souled clubable man who occasionaIl)f exhibits to a few 
privileged intimates his talent as a raconteur and brilliant 
conversationalist. 



ISO 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GEORGE A. SCOTT. 

TiiK late Geor<(c A. Scott was born at Lansin<^biii<j, 
Rensselaer Ct)iint)-, New York, in 1842, the son of 
George Scott, a prominent Ijriish manufacturer of that 
place. When but seventeen years of age he conceived 
the idea of a brush whose bristles should not be doubled 
in the back of the brush and secured with wire or thread, 
and at this he worked at inlcr\als for \-cars, finali)- 
achieving success. 

Tile war with the South broke out w hen lie was nineteen 
years of age. Young Scott burned with martial ardor, 
particularly wlien he saw his friends and companions 
donning the blue and marching away to the front. His 
parents, however, who feared for their son's life, steadily 
refused to ])erniit him to enroll himself in any of the 
regiments being raised in the town. The youthful patriot 
ended the contest by running away from home and 
making his way to Virginia, where he sought the regiment 
containing his friends, and enlisted in a compan\' whose 
ca[)tain hail formerly been in his father's emplo)-. It was 
a "two years' regiment," and was mustered out at the 
end of that period. I'eeling that he had ilone his share 
of duty to his country, ami wear)- of the hardships of 
.soldiering, he returned to civil life. 

On the perfection of his device anil the taking out of 
a patent, he took the neces.sary steps to push it, bringing 
it to the attention of certain capitalists in Massachusetts, 
with whom lie entered into business relations. A com- 
pany was organized called the l*"lorence Maiuifacturiiig 
Company, with a large capital. 



The young inventor was venturesome and pro\ed for- 
tunate. Ten years were spent abroad, during which time 
a company — the Lionite Manufacturing Compan)', limited 
— was organized in London, and the brushes placed upon 
the market, he being made the managing director. He 
was also engaged in other enterprises, and became a 
director in several other companies, while also diligently 
engaged in working out a new idea, the ap[)lication 
of electro-magnetism to his patent hair-brush and to 
other articles. He became convinced that by inserting a 
magnet in a hair-brush he could proiluce an article of 
dail)' use which would prove an important agent in the 
relief of headache and neuralgic pains. 

The magnetic brush was brought out in 1878 in Lon- 
don, and advertised with a liberality to which Britannic 
conservatism was not accustomed, and which gave the 
new article a decided start. The business being es- 
tablished in London, Mr. Scott made his waj- to Paris, 
whose journals were quickly filled with illustrations of 
his brush, on whose back appeared a hand biaiulishing 
a cluster of lightning ilarts. This seemed to take the 
Parisian fanc)', and orders poured in for the magnetic 
brush. 

In the following year, 1879, Mr. Scott returned to New 
\'ork, where he began advertising in the same liberal 
manner as he had done abroad, and at once became 
kuown as one of the largest ad\-ertisers in ihc world ; 
anil for years his aiKertising expenses in I'^nglantl were 
about S 100,000, and in this country about Si 50,000, 
annually. 

Mr. Scott's in\'entive acti\'it\- did not cease with the 
production of the hair-brush. He followed this with 
experiments towards the production of an electric flesh- 
brush, and successively applied his magnetic idea to 
other articles, producing a magnetic belt, corset, and 
tooth-brush, all of which articles have a large annual 
sale. Into his three agencies — New York, London, and 
Paris — orders come from all parts of the worlil, such as 
Central and South .\merica, ^Vustralia, Hong-Kong, the 
Holy Land, and other remote [joints, and the lousiness is 
still acti\el)' pushed. 

Dr. Scott resided in New York, and was an American 
physically as well as mentally. Tall and lithi, with regu- 
lar features, keen gray eyes, an e\ident sense of humor 
lurking in their depths, and ijuick, decisive manner, he 
bore the mark of the enterprising man of business in 
his whole vital personality. He died I'ebruary il, 1 890, 
at Colorado Springs, Colorado, leaving a widow and son 
and daughter. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



iSi 



CAPTAIN HENRY ROMEYN. 

Captain Hexrv Romeyn (Fifth Infantry) was born in 
New York June i. 1S33. His first military service began 
at the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, and was 
in the grades of private, corporal, and sergeant of Com- 
pany G, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois Volunteers, 
serving in the field to November 15, 1863, at which 
time he was appointed a captain of the Fourteenth U. S. 
Colored Infantry, 

He served as chief of scouts at Gallatin, Tennessee, 
from January to June, 1863, and then was occupied in 
recruiting the Forty-second and Forty-fourth U. S. 
Colored Troops until April, 1864, after which he was 
detailed as pro\ost-marshaI at Knoxville, Tennessee, 
which position he occupied to December, 1865. 

He was brevetted major of volunteers for "gallant and 
meritorious services at the battle of Nashville ;" was hon- 
orably mustered out of volunteer service March 26, 1866. 

During the War of the Rebellion Captain Romeyn was 
engaged at the action of Frankfort, Kentucky ; engaged 
at the action of Dalton ; defence of Decatur ; action of 
Shoal Creek, Alabama ; battle of Nashville, and action 
of Decatur, Alabama. 

Captain Romej-n entered the regular service as first 
lieutenant of the Thirty-seventh Infantr\- January 22, 
1867, and subsequently assigned to the l''ifth Infantry 
August 14, 1869. Upon his entrance into the regular 
army he was bre\etted a captain for " gallant and meri- 
torious services at the battle of Nashville, Tennessee." 
He joined his regiment and was with it on frontier duty 
at Fort Lamed, Kansas, May to September, 1867; Fort 
Garland, Colorado Territory, October, 1867, to Novem- 
ber, 1868; Fort Union, New Mexico, and Cimarron 
Agency, New Mexico, November, 1868, to April, 1869; 
at Fort Wallace, Kansas, September, 1869, to October, 
1 87 1. He was then ordereil in field against hostile 
Indians, where he remained from August to November, 
1874; at Fort Gibson, May, 1875, to June, 1876; in field, 
Sioux campaign, Montana Territory, Jul\- to November, 
1876; also May, July, and August, 1877; cantonment. 
Tongue River (Fort Keogh),June and July, 1877; escort 
duty, September, 1 877 ; in campaign against Nez Perces, 
September, 1877. He was then granted a sick-leave on 
account of wound to March, 1878; on leave (surgical 
certificate) to April, 1882 ; at Fort Keogh, Montana Ter- 
ritoty, April to October, 1882; at Fort Brown, Texas, 
December, 1882, to November, 1883; at Fort Keogh, 
Montana, from February, 1884, to June, 1888; at Fort 
Ringgold, Texas, from June, 1888, to May, 1891 ; Mount 
Vernon Barracks, Alabama, from that date to present time. 
He was promoted to a captaincy in the Fifth Infantry Jul)- 
10, 1885. He filled the position of post adjutant, acting 
assistant quartermaster, and assistant commissary of sub- 
sistence at Fort Larned, Kansas, May to September, 1876; 




post adjutant, acting assistant quartciniaster, and assistant 
commissary of subsistence at Fort Wallace, Kansas, Sep- 
tember, 1869, to October, 1871 ; post adjutant, acting 
assistant quartermaster, and assistant commissary of sub- 
sistence, post Southeast Kansas (Fort Scott, Kansas), to 
May, 1873; acting assistant quartermaster and assistant 
commissary of subsistence. Fort Gibson, Indian Terri- 
tory, May, I 873, to July, 1874; post adjutant, cantonment 
Tongue River, June and Jul)-, 1877. Captain Romeyn par- 
ticipated in action against Che)'ennes, Che)-enne Agency, 
Indian Territory, April 6, 1875 ; in action with Nez Perces 
Indians September 30, 1877, and was shot through the 
lungs, the wound thought at the time to be mortal. 

He was then detailed as professor of military science 
and tactics at Hampton Institute, Virginia, from March, 
1878, to November, i88r. Joining his regiment at Fort 
Keogh, Montana, he remained until September, 1882, 
when he was ordered to P^ort Brown, Te.xas, where he 
remained to December, 1883; then rejoining at Fort 
Keogh, accompanied his regiment to Texas in 1888. 

The first of the name of Rome)-n in this country 
(1661) had been an officer in the arm\- of Prince Maurice, 
of Holland, and in the Brazils. 

One of Captain Romeyn's great-grandfathers, John 
Moore, of New York, was a member of the first Provin- 
cial Congress of that colony, and of the " Council of 
Safety" of Tryon County. His maternal great-grand- 
father, Captain Henry Shoemaker, of Pennsylvania, was 
a prisoner on board the old hulks in New York harbor, 
from which he escaped in irons by dropping from a port 
and floating out with the tide at night. His paternal 
<nandfather served asjainst the Indians in the Mohawk 
Valley on different occasions. Several of the name 
served during the War of 1812, and *one was killed at 
the storming of the gates of the City of Mexico, while 
thirty-seven participated in the War of the Rebellion. 



152 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAMES B. COLGATE. 

James Bookman Colgate, well known in New York 
for his philanthropic services, was born in that city 
March 4, 181 8, bcin<^ descended from an English family 
which can be traced back among the sturd\- yeomanry of 
Kent to the beginning of the fifteenth century. Robert 
Colgate, in the days of the American Revolution, was 
bold in his advocacy of the rights of the colonists, and 
at a later date was in danger of arrest for his sympathy 
with some of the principles of the French Revolution, 
and his support of the demand for reform in England. 
In consequence, on the advice of Pitt, wIkuii he had 
known since bojhood, he emigrated in 1795 to the I 
United States, making his home for some time in Mary- I 
land, and afterwards in Delaware County, New York. 

William Colgate, his eldest son, built up in New \'ork 
the well-known liou.se of Colgate & Co., and died in 
1857, leaving three sons, Samuel, who is head of the 
old firm, Robert, now engaged in the white-lead business, 
and James li., with whom we arc here particularly con- 
cerned. James H. Colgate received his early education 
in Connecticut, and later in New York. lie was ready 
to enter college at the age of sixteen, but preferred to 
devote his attention to business, and spent seven j-ears 
in mercantile life, the last four in the commission hou.sc 
of Hoorman, Johnson & Co. During the year 1841 
most of his time was passed in Europe, his health lia\-- 
ing failed. On his return to' New York he engaged in 
the wholesale dry-goods business, in which he continued 
for a number of years, leaving it in 1852 to enter the 
.stock bu.sincss in Wall Street with Mr. John H. Trevor, 
the firm-name being Trevor & Colgate. 



The business of the new firm proved successful, and 
in 1857 they added a bullion department, establishing 
themselves now at No. 47 Wall Street. Here they 
prospered greath', and their house came to be, and still 
is, considered the leading bullion house of this country. 
Mr. Colgate directed his attention particularly to this 
branch of the business, and during the civil war took 
an early and active part in the formation of the New 
York Gold Exchange, of which for many years he was 
president. He strongly advocated the remonetization 
of silver, in which at one time he stood almost alone, 
though now his views have gained many sujiportcrs. 
His papers on this subject ha\e been widely read, and 
evince groat clearness of thought and independence of 
judgment. 

Mr. Colgate's private life has been one of phiiantiiropic 
effort of the most generous and self-sacrificing kind. 
From early life he has been a member of the Baptist 
Church, and during his whole business career has de- 
voted a percentage of his income to the promotion of 
Christian work in all its departments. Fortunately, Mr. 
Trevor has warmly sym|iathizcd with him in these be- 
ne\olcnt views. The 15aptist Church in Yonkers, New 
^'ork, was built b\- tlicin in conjunction, at a cost of 
one hundred antl ninet)' thousand dollars, and the\' ha\e 
given fiftj- thousand dollars to the HajHist Church Ex- 
tension Fund, besides fostering man\' other religious 
and educational interests. 

In educational advancement he has been as strong!)- 
interested as in religious work, particularly in connection 
with Madi.son University, of wiiicli his father was one 
of the leading incorporators. In 1873, the Colgate 
Academy adjunct to the university was erected at his 
exi)ense, and forty-two thousand dollars given b)- him 
towards endowing the ])rincipalship. In 1861 he became 
a member of the board of trustees of this education.d 
institution, and in 1864 its president, which position he 
still retains. Since 1864 he has c(5ntributed to the en- 
dowment of the Madison University no less than two 
hundred and forty-seven thousand dollars, in addition 
to the sixty thou.sand spent nn the Colgate Academy 
building. 

Mr. Colgate has not confined his gifts to this institu- 
tion, but has given liberally to other educational enter- 
prises, including the Rochester University, the Colgate 
Academy at New London, New Hampshire, the Colum- 
bian College at Washington, D. C, and various others, 
besides many gifts to churches anil benevolent societies. 
He is indeed a man of the noblest and most admirable 
character, and ranks high among the princes of charity 
of our times. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



153 



REV. HHNRY C. I'OTTHR U.D. 

Rev. Hen'kv Codman Potter, the seventh Protestant 
Episcopal bishop of the diocese of New York, was born 
at Schenectady, New York, on May 25, 1825, being the 
son of the Rev. Alonzo Potter, consecrated bishop of 
Pennsylvania in 1845, and nephew of Rev. Horatio 
Potter, who became bishop of New York in 1861. 
Mr. Potter received his early education in the Philadel- 
phia Acadeni)' of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and 
thence entered the Theological .Seminar)' near Alexandria, 
Virginia, from which he graduated in 1S57. He was 
immediately made deacon, and one j-ear later was or- 
dained to the priesthood. From his entry on the deacon- 
ate until May 15, 1859, he was in charge of Christ 
Church, at Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in which he showed 
from the first that marked zeal and devotion to the duties 
of a clerical life which befitted one who was the son and 
nephew of bishops, and which has been throughout his 
life his leading characteristic. 

The youthful rector was subsequently transferred to 
St. John's Church, of Troy, New York, in charge of 
which parish he remained for seven years. At the end 
of this period he was installed as assistant rector at the 
famous Trinity Church, of Boston, where he served for 
two years with much devotion to duty and satisfaction 
to the members of the congregation. His next field of 
duty was as rector of an equally well-known and aristo- 
cratic Church, Grace Church, New York City, of which 
he assumed pastoral charge in May, 1868, a post of duty 
which he continued to occupy for the succeeding sixteen 
\cars. 

During this period several flattering recognitions of 
his ability came to him. In 1S63 he was chosen presi- 
dent of Kenyon College, at Ganibier, Ohio, by an enthu- 
siastic vote of its board of trustees. This position he 
declined, and at a later date (1875) declined another offer 
more in the line of his chosen profession, that of Bishop 
of Iowa. 

His uncle. Bishop Horatio Potter, of the diocese of 
New York, feeling, in 18S3, unfitted to perform all the 
duties devolving upon him, proffered a request for an 
assistant bishop to the general council of the Protest- 
ant Episcopal Church then in session in Philadelphia. 
This request of the aged bishop was immediately 
complied with b\- the election of his nejihew as assistant 
bishop. 

The consecration of the ncwl)- elected bishop took 
place on October 20, 1883, in the presence of forty-three 
bishops and nearly three hundred clergymen, who were 
assembled at the general convention. Mr. Potter's long 
connection as rector with Grace Church ceased in Janu- 
ary, 1884, though he was still to remain related to his 
old parish in his new capacity as bishop, which office he 
immediately assumed. For a short time his uncle con- 




tinued to perform a part of the duties of the office, but 
his disabilities increasing, he was soon obliged to retire 
from active labor in tlie diocese, all of whose duties now 
fell to the care of his assistant. On January 2, 1887, the 
aged bishop died. His nephew now became the head of 
the see, a position which he has .since that date continued 
to fill. The diocese over which he has episcopal control 
is the largest in population of any in the United States. 
Its population is o\-cr two millions, and within its bounda- 
ries are more than two hundred parisiies and churclies, 
and over three hundred and fifty clergy, while the number 
of communicants are in excess of fifty-four thousand. 
The annual contributions of the diocese amoiuit to nearly 
;S3, 000,000. 

In 1866, Bishop Potter was appointed secretary of the 
House of Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Cliurch, 
and continued to perform the duties of that office until 
his election to the bishopric in 1883. Since his gradua- 
tion, several honorary degrees have been conferred upon 
him by colleges, as a just recognition of his abilit}- and 
eminence as a member of the clergy. Tliese include 
the degree of A.M., and subsequently that of D.D. from 
Union College, of LL.D. from Trinit\- College, and of 
D.D. from Hartford Uni\crsit\-, the last given on the 
occasion of his elevation to the bishopric. 

Nothing further needs to be said here concerning his 
abilities as a member of the episcopate, the regard in 
which he is held, or the earnestness of his application to 
the labors of the diocese. What has already been said 
about his strict and conscientious attention to duty will 
suffice for this. It may be remarked, in conclusion, that 
he has been an author of much credit, his works in- 
cluding " Sisterhoods and DeaconsBses," " Sermons of 
the City," and " The Gates of the East," a work descrip- 
tive of Oriental travels. 



154 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




COLONEL ELLIOT F. SHEPARD. 

Ei.LioT Fitch Shepakd was born at Jamestown, New 
York, on July 25, 1833, his father, I'"itch Shcpard, being 
then in official connection with the Chautauqua County 
liank. lie was educated at tlie L^niversity of tlic City of 
New York, on graduating from w liich he prepared him- 
self for the profession of the law, and was admitted to 
the New \'ork bar in 1858. He at once entered u])()n a 
practice which continued with little interru[)tion dtiring 
the subseipient twenty-five years. His principal with- 
drawal from professional duties was during the c\\\\ war, 
in which he took a most energetic and useful part in 
support of the government. Governor E. D. Morgan, 
who was also a major-general in the volunteer service, 
placed Mr. Shepard upon his military staff at the out- 
break of the war, with the rank of colonel. In this 
l)osition he manifested much e.\ecuti\e ability and excel- 
lent organizing capacity. The Fifty-first Regiment of 
New York Infantry, raised and equipped in September, 
1861, owed its existence mainly to Mr. Shepard's exer- 
tions, and was in conscciuence known as the " Shepard 
Rifles." His powers in this direction having been thus 
made evident. Governor Morgan appointed him to the 
command of the State depot for volunteers, at ICImira, a 
command which he retained for two years, during which 
he organized, equipped, and sent to the front more than 
fifty thousand men. 

At the close of the war Colonel Shepard resumed his 
duties at the bar, and gained much profitable jiractice, 1 
becoming counsel for the New York Central and other 
railroad companies and for various corporations. His j 
labors in this direction were supplemented by others of | 



a legislative and financial character. The passage of 
the act creating a Court of Arbitration for the New 
York Chamber of Commerce was procured through his 
efforts, and the Bank of the Metropolis, the Columbia 
Bank, and the American Savings Bank were organized 
by him. In 1876 he founded the New York State 
Bar Association, of which he was unanimouslj- elected 
president. 

His activitj' in these numerous directions told in time 
upon his health, and in 1884 he found himself obliged to 
take a period of rest and recreation. He accordingly 
crossed the ocean and traveled in Europe, Asia, and 
Africa. In 1887 he made a journey to Alaska, a land 
then but little known, and on his return brought it to 
public attention by a series of instructive and charming 
lectures. A year later he came forward as an author in 
the field of economics, publishing his famous panii)hlet, 
" Labor and Capital arc One." This, in w hich he main- 
tains that the modern corporation is a distinguishing feat- 
ure of nineteenth century ci\'ilization, deprecates strikes 
and advocates arbitration, had a \ery wide circulation, 
and was much commented upon b\' the press and ])olitical 
economists. 

In 1888 Mr. Shepard entered upon a new field of labor, 
purchasing the Mdil and Express from Cyrus W. I'ielil, 
and assuming the duties of its editor. He hail long been 
a fervent Christian, aiKocating the tenets of Christianit\' 
in e\er\' way a\ailable, and marked his editorshij) of the 
Mdi/ and ILvprcss b\- placing a text from the Bible each 
day at the head of its columns. As an editor he mani- 
fested much ability and enterprise, and the paper rapidly 
increased in circulation and advertising patronage under 
his control, its circulation quadrupling. He built for it 
one of the finest newspaper edifices in the city, and to-day 
it ranks among the most successful ilailies. 

Colonel Slie])ard's religious earnestness showed itself 
in another direction when he purchased the Fifth Avenue 
Omnibus Line, with the avowed purpose of [)utting an 
end to its .Sunda)- traffic. This was done as soon as the 
control of the line came into his hands. His advocac)- 
of the sacredness of Sunday showed itself also in his 
strong opposition to the opening of the World's Colum- 
bian I{xi)osition on that day. 

In 1868 Colonel Shepard married Margaret Loui.se, 
the oldest daughter of William II. Vanderbilt. His 
family consisted of six children. In 1893 his Alma Mater 
conferreil on him the degree of Master of Laws, and the 
University of Omaha that of Doctor of Laws. Politi- 
cally he was an earnest Rei)ublican, infusing into his 
political faith the fervor which entered into all his strong 
beliefs. He died suddenly on March 24, 1893. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



155 



CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW. 

Chauncey M. Depew, whose name has become ahnost 
a liouschold woid in this country, was born at Peekskill, 
New York, April 23, 1834. On his father's side he comes 
from Hut^uenot stock, his ancestors having left France 
on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and founded 
New Rochelle, in Westchester County, New York. On 
his mother's side he is descended from Roger Sherman, 
of historical fame. 

After a preliminary education in his native place, Mr. 
Depew entered Yale College, from which he graduated 
in 1S56. He subsequently studied law in Peekskill, and 
was admitted to practice at the bar in 185S. He had 
alread}- manifested a decided tendenc)- towards politics, 
anti de\'cloped that oratorical ability to which he owes 
his wide-spread reputation. While still stud_\'ing law, he 
was recognized as a valuable aid to his party, the Re- 
publican, and was .sent as a delegate to the Republican 
State convention of New York in 1858. In 1859 he 
began legal practice, but in the same year took the stump 
in the political campaign, in which he showetl marked 
power as a political orator. 

In i860, Mr. Depew became a candidate for tlie State 
Legislature, and was elected, though his district was 
Democratic. He was re-elected in 1862, and during this 
term served as chairman of the Committee on Ways and 
Means. In 1863 he recei\'ed the Republican nomination 
for Secretar)' of State of New York. In the campaign 
he showed an industr\- and capacity that have rarely 
been equaled. For six weeks he made speeches twice 
a day, and with such effect that he was not only elected, 
but received the triumphant majority of thirty thousand. 
At a later date he was offered the post of United States 
minister to Japan, which he finally declined after retain- 
ing the commission in his possession, under considera- 
tion, for some months. 

In 1866, Mr. Depew withdrew from political life to de- 
vote himself to his profession, and was appointed by 
Vanderbilt attornc}- for the New York and Harlem Rail- 
road. In this position he showed such industry and skill 
that in 1869 he was made attorney for the New York 
Central and Hudson River Railroad, — formed by con- 
solidation in that year. Ten years later the entire Van- 
derbilt system of railroads was placed under his legal 
care, and he was made a director in the board of each 
road. This important field of duty gave him an abun- 
dance of labor, much of it requiring the highest legal 
skill, but in 1872 he ran for lieutenant-governor of the 
State as the candidate of the " Independent Party" which 
arose that year. This party proved very short-lived, and 
Mr. Depew's candidac)- died with it. 

In 1874 he was made regent of the University of the 
State of New York, and was appointed on the commis- 
sion to superintend the erection of the State capitol. In 




188 1, at the time of the resignation of Senators Conkling 
and Piatt from the United States Senate, Mr. Depew be- 
came one of the candidates for the vacant seats. The 
struggle was a protracted one, his force growing till on 
the twenty-fourth ballot he lackeil but ten votes of elec- 
tion. The murder of President Garfield ended the strug- 
gle. It became imperative that New York should be 
represented in the Senate, and Mr. Depew withdrew his 
name in fa\'or of his leading opponent. 

In 1S82, on the retirement of Mr. William H. Vander- 
bilt from the presidency of the New York Central, and 
the election of Mr. J. H. Rutter in his place, Mr. Depew 
was made second vice-president. The new president 
died in 1885, and Mr. Depew was elected to the presi- 
dency in his place. This important post he has since 
then continued to fill. He is also president of the West 
Shore Railroad Compan\'. Among other positions which 
have been occupied b)' him are those of president of the 
Union League and of the Yale Alumni Association, di- 
rector in the Union Trust Compan\-, the Western Union 
Telegraph Company, the P'quitable Life Assurance Com- 
pany, and St. Luke's Hospital, and member of the New 
York Chamber of Commerce. 

As a lawyer, Mr. Depew has been a remarkably hard 
worker. He is best known, however, for his telling 
orator}', which has been heard effectively in national 
Republican con\entions (as in his striking presentation 
of ex-President Harrison's claims at the last conven- 
tion), at the Chicago World's Exposition, and on many 
other important occasions, and which is not onl\- bril- 
liantly incisive, but is irradiated with a rich humor 
which has had much to do with his wide reputation. 
This latter power is particularly OTsplayed on social 
occasions, and he is voted the best after-dinner speaker 
in America. 



156 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CORNHl.lUS VANDERBIIT. 

CoKNELius Vanderbilt the younger, grandson of tlic 
notable financier of the same name, and eldest son of 
William H. Vanderbilt, was born at Dorj), Staten Island, 
November 27, 1843. He was educated at private scliools, 
and subsequently carefully trained for a business career, 
to fit liim for the important interests for which his father 
designed him. His business life began as a clerk in 
the Shoe and Leather Bank of New York, wliere he 
served under the same conditions as the other employes, 
and manifested much industrj' and ability. A\. the age 
of twenty he was placed in the hanking house of Kis.sam 
Hrothers, remaining there three years, and manifesting 
a capacit)' for business which delighted his father. In 
1.S65 he began his railroad career in a responsible 
position in the New York and Harlem Railroad office, 
and proved so a])t and able that in 1867 he was made 
treasurer of the road, and ten years later, on the death 
of his grandfather, became its vice-president. Subsc- 
cjucntly, on tlic retirement of his father, he succeeded to 
its presidency. 

In 1883 lie was elected ciiairman of the directors of 
the New York Central and Michigan Central roads, 
his brother William K. being elected to a similar posi- 
tion in the Lake Shore Railroad Compan_\-. By the | 
will of William II. V'anderbilt the sum of j;io,000,000 
was left to each of his eight children, Cornelius received \ 
;iS2,ooo,ooo extra, and the residuary estate was equally \ 
divided between the two older sons, Cornelius and Wil- 
liam K. Subsequentlj' the remaining lieirs, recognizing ; 



the abilit}' and experience of the two here named, agreed 
that the bulk of the family fortune, particularly the rail- 
road securities, shouUl remain under their management, 
for the further development of the immense estate. 

Of these two trustees of the Vanderbilt estate, Cor- 
nelius has shown most decidedly the hereditary family 
talent for business and finance, and has played a leading 
part in the more recent handling of the property. He 
has become the financial manager of the vast Vanderbilt 
railroad .system, which in its main and branch lines com- 
prises a total of forty-three separate companies and 
operates sixteen thousand miles of track. Throughout 
this great system he makes his influence felt, and no im- 
portant step is taken without his sanction. 

Mr. V'anderbilt's energies are not all exertetl in the 
direction of business. He takes an active part in social 
interests, and has shown a markcdl)' benevolent disposi- 
tion, being connected as trustee with many of the chari- 
table, religious, and educational institutions of New York 
City, most of which have received benefactions at his 
hands. The College of Physicians and Surgeons, which 
had received .ui important donation from William II. 
Vanderbilt, owes to his four sons a building for clinical 
instruction, built and equipped as a fitting memorial of 
their father. It has received a valuable gift also from 
one of the daughters. 

Mr. Vanderbilt's personal bene\oIences embrace the 
erection of a fine club house for railroad men at the 
corner of Madison Avenue and Fort)'-fifth Street, and 
large contributions towards clubs and reading-rooms at 
many points on the Vanderbilt system. The Protestant 
Episcopal Catlicdial has received from liini a donation 
of SlOO.OOO towards its erection, while he anil his wife 
(Alice Gwynne, daughter of a distinguished lawyer of 
Cincinnati) have erected a ilormitory on the site nf the 
old "South College" at Yale, as a memorial to their son 
William II., who died at that university. The)' have 
five children living, — three sons and two daughters. 

Mr. Vanderbilt is much interested in art and literature, 
and has contributeil to the art education of the metropolis 
by ]ircsenting to the Metroi)olitan Museum of Art a col- 
lection of diawings from the old masters, and Rosa Bnn- 
heur's acknowledged masterpiece, the famous " Horse 
Fair," purchascil at a cost of <;5 3,000. Personally, he is 
a dignified an<l courteous gentleman, ilmneslic in tastes, 
yet fond of society, being a member of numerous clubs, 
and one of the incorporators and directors of the Metro- 
politan Clnl). He takes great interest in public affairs, 
and is known as a man of just views and sentiments on 
the leading topics of the da)'. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



157 



FRANK THOMSON. 

Frank Thomson was bora in Chanibcrsburg, Penn- 
sylvania, July 5, 1841. His great-grandfather, Alexander 
Thomson, emigrated from Scotland in 1771, and became 
one of the pioneer settlers in the Cumberland Valley. 
His father, Hon. Alexander Thomson, represented his 
district in Congress from 1824 to 1826, was for many 
years president judge of the Si.xteenth Judicial District, 
and professor of law in Marshall College. 

Mr. Thomson received his preliminary and classical 
education at the Chanibcrsburg Academy, and at seven- 
teen years of age selected the railway as his life-work, 
and entered the shops of the Penns)-Kania Railroad at 
Altoona in order to thoroughly fit himself for his chosen 
profession. Colonel Thomas A. Scott was at this time 
general superintendent of the road. At the breaking out 
of the war. Colonel Scott having been called to the aid of 
the government in matters relating to the transportation 
of troops and supplies, detailed Mr. Thomson for duty 
in the military railroad department of the government 
which was then being organized under his direction. 

Mr. Thomson remained in the ser\ice of the govern- 
ment, in active duty in \'arious parts of the South and 
Southwest, until 1864, and in June of that year was 
appointed superintendent of the Eastern Division of the 
Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, which position he filled 
until March, 1873. In the latter part of 1871 he was 
temporarily detached from the active duties of his post 
in order that he might direct in person, on behalf of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, the American tour of the Grand 
Duke Alexis, of Russia. 

In March, 1873, he was promoted to the office of 
superintendent of motive power of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, which position he held a little over one year, 
when he relinquished it on Jul}- i, 1874, to become gen- 
eral manager of the Pennsylvania Railroad system east 
of Pittsburg and Erie. 

As general manager he introduced a number of reforms 
in the management, administration, and maintenance of 
the road. The standard track and solid road-bed owes 
its existence to his efforts, and the system of track in- 
spection and the award of prizes for the best sections of 




track were institutctl b\' him. Tiie atloption of a superior 
standard of equipment, the building of picturesque sta- 
tions and the ornamentation of their grounds, the use of 
the block-signal s}'stem and other safety appliances, were 
all distinctive features of his management. He was also 
instrumental in developing that high grade of discipline 
for which the Pennsj-lvania Railroad is noted. 

On October i, 1882, Mr. Thomson became second 
vice-president, and on October 27, 1888, was advanced 
to the post of first vice-president, of which office he is 
now the incumbent. In this position he is in charge of 
the traffic arrangements, both freight and passenger, and 
is the administrative officer of the road and the direct 
representative of the president. 

He is particular!}- charged with the traffic arrange- 
ments effective between the Pennsylvania Railroad and 
its connections, and in this connection he is one of the 
best known and most highly regarded railroad officials of 
the country. His long service and wide experience and 
comprehensive abilit}- peculiarly fit him for this important 
position. 

In addition to his railroad duties, Mr. Thomson is a 
director of the Equitable Insurance Company, of New 
York. 



158 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




EDWARD B. HARPER. 

Edwaki) Ua.sco.mi; Haktek was born near Doxcr, 
Delaware, September 4, i<S42, being a descendant of a 
fan)il)- whose genealogical tree can be traced back to Sir 
William Harper, who was lord maj'or of the city of 
London in 15(^)1. His father was a leading merchant of 
Kent County, Delaware, but both his parents had died by 
the time he was thirteen years of age, leaving him an or- 
phan destitute of means and obliged in the strictest sense to 
make his own way in the world. His business life began at 
the age of fourteen as clerk in the general store of Dover. 
I le remained here until twent)' years of age, by which time 
he was enabled, through strict ccononi)- and frugal habits, 
to accumulate a small capital, which he decided to use in 
acepiiring a more thorough business education. 

Proceeding to Baltimore, he entered a commercial col- 
lege, where he applied himself with such strict .issiduit)' 
to study that he kept at the head of his class and gradu- 
ated with the highest honors of the institution. Various 
offers of situations were now made him, from which he 
selected one of clerkship in a Philadelphia bank. His 
talent for business found here a wider field th.in that of the 
country store, and he advanced step by step until he was 
chief manager under the firm, and subsequently became a 
member of a large banking concern whose mone)' trans- 
actions aggregated the large total (W fmni half ,1 million 
to a million dollars daily. 

Mr. Harper continued thus engaged until iS^S, \\lieii 
the financial depression of that period induced him to 
withdraw from banking and to engage in the life insur- 
ance business, to which his talent for solving intricate 
mathematical problems seemed particularly to ada])t him 
In 1869 he was offered the position of Western manage 
of the Commonwealth Life Insurance Company of New 
York. He accepted the situation, and entered upon his 



new duties with such energy and skill as to cause a rapid 
development in the business of the concern. He re- 
mained with the Commonwealth Company for si.\ years, 
at the end of which time it was found that he had placed 
upon the books of the company two-thirds of its entire 
business. On the retirement of the Commonwealth Coni- 
panj- from business, Mr. Harper became the New York 
manager of the John Hancock Life Insurance Compan)- 
of Boston, whose business, which previously had lan- 
guishetl, displa\x-d a remarkable development uniler his 
care. In 1880 he disposed of his interest to the Hancock, 
and shortly afterwards was asked to take charge of the 
business of the Mutual Reserve Fund Life Association, a 
companj' which was incorporated February y, 1881, and 
was organized on a purel\- mutual plan. Mr. Harper 
accepted the office, on September 16, 1 881, of president of 
this conipan)-. The business of the Association was up to 
that time transacted in a single room in the Bennett Build- 
ing, at Nassau and Fulton Streets, but it quickly felt the 
imi)ulse of the energy and ability of its new president, the 
business in the first month jumping from $400,000 to 
$1,000,000; the second month it reached ^1,250,000, and 
within two j'cars it reached $4,000,000. The present stand- 
ing of the business is indicated in the great new buikling 
at the corner of Broad w.i\- antl Diiane Street, into which 
it has expanded from its original contracted quarters. 

Mr. Harper's influence on the conditions of the insur- 
ance business has been solely for good, and his influence 
as a manager is far-reaching and effective. His plan of 
assessment life insurance has been adopted by the Mas- 
sachusetts Legislature. .\ bill requiring reserves of all 
life insurance companies to be deposited with insurance 
departments, and for annual distribution of surplus, was 
brought before the New York Legislature at his instance ; 
antl through his e.xertions a de])osit law of $50,000 was 
enacted in Caiiaii.i, giving assessment associations the 
right to do business in that country. 

Mr. Harper is connected with \arious other organiza- 
tions, in each of which he occupies a prominent position. 
He is president of the Legislative Associates of the Uniteil 
States of America, a member of the New York Union and 
the National Union of the Assessment Associations, of 
the New York Board of Trade, of the Knights of Honor, 
American Legion of Honor, Knights Temi)Iar anil other 
Masonic bodies, ,uul of other beneficial and fraternal 
societies. He is a director of the American F.vcliange 
at Paris, and a member of the Lotus, the Patria, the 
Chnrch, llu' Republican, and other clubs, and of other in- 
stitutions, including the New York Geogra])hical Society. 

Religiously, Mr. Harper is a Baptist, and is one of the 
trustees of Calvary Church. In politics he is an Inde- 
pendent, his rule being always to prefer honesty before 
partisanshi]!. Recently his name was prominentl)- urged 
for nomination for the governorship of New York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



159 



COLONEL AND BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL 
INNIS N. PALMER. 

Colonel and Brevet Bkicadier-General Innis N. 
Palmer was born in New York, and graduated from the 
Military Acadeni}- Jul\- i, 1846. He was promoted 
brevet second lieutenant Mounted Rifles the same day, 
second lieutenant July 20, 1847, and first lieutenant Jan- 
uary 27, 1853. He served during the war with Mexico ; 
and arrived at Vera Cruz IVLTrch 9, 1847; participated 
in the siege of Vera Cruz, the battles of Cerro Gordo, 
Contreras, Churubusco, Chapultepec (severely wounded), 
and in the assault upon and capture of the City of Mexico ; 
commanded Company B of the police in the City of 
Mexico from December 18, 1847, to June 5, 1848; re- 
turned to Jefferson Barracks in lul>", 184S; served as 
acting adjutant of his regiment to March 25, 1849, 
when he was on regimental recruiting service at St. 
Louis until IVLi\- ; then he rejoined his regiment near 
Fort Leavenworth and marched with it to Oregon City, 
where he arrived about the 15th of October; he served 
as acting adjutant of his regiment from October 14, 1849, 
to May I, 1850, and held the position until July i, 1854; 
returning East, served at Jefferson Barracks in 1851, 
and during the years 1852-54 was employed in Indian 
campaigns in Texas, ami had stations at Forts Merrill, 
Ewell, and Inge ; he was on recruiting ser\ice in Balti- 
more when appointed a captain in the Fifth (old Second) 
Cavalrj-, to date from March 3, 1S55 ; joined at Jefferson 
Barracks August 27, 1855; marched with the regiment 
to Texas, and arri\ed at Fort Mason January 14, 1S56, 
where he served until Jul\-, when he was assigned to 
the command of Camp Verde, which he retained until 
May, 1858, and was employed during January and 
February, 1858, in operations against hostile Indians 
near the head- waters of the Brazos and Colorado Rivers; 
returned to Fort Mason in May, 1858, and about one 
month later proceeded to Fort Belknap, where the regi- 
ment was ordered to concentrate for the march to Utah ; 
but the order was revoked, and he was assigned to duty 
at that post, where he served until January, 1859. He 
returned to duty in October, i860, and conducted a de- 
tachment of recruits to Te.xas, and rejoined his company 
at Camp Cooper January 5, 1861. He marched his 
company to Green Lake, where he was joined by five 
other companies ; then conducted the battalion to In- 
dianola, and there embarked on the steamship " Coatza- 
coalcos," and arrived in New York harbor April 11, 
1861, proceeding directly to Washington, where he was 
employed in guarding the Treasury building and served 
in the defences of the city; commanded the regular 
cavalry in the Manassas campaign ; served as a member 
of a board convened at Washington in August, 1 86 1, 
for the examination of officers who were reported to be 




unable to perforni ficld-ser\ice ; commanded the regi- 
ment in the defences of Washington from August 28, 
1 86 1, until March, 1862, when he participated in the 
Virginia Peninsula campaign as a brigade commander 
in the Fourth Corps, Army of the Potomac, having been 
appointed brigadier-general of volunteers September 23, 
1 86 1, and was engaged in the siege of Yorktown, in the 
battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Glendale, and Mal- 
vern Hill ; he was then employed in organizing and 
forwarding to the field New Jersey and Delaware vol- 
unteers, and in superintending camps of drafted men at 
Philadelphia, until December, 1862, when he was trans- 
ferred to North Carolina, where he served until June, 
1865 ; commanded at different periods the First Division 
of the Eighteenth Army Corps, the Department of North 
Carolina, the District of Pamlico, the Eighteenth Army 
Corps, the defences of New Berne, the Districts of North 
Carolina and Beaufort, and participated in March, 1865, 
in General Sherman's movements, and was engaged in 
the action of Kinston ; joined his regiment at Fort Ells- 
worth, Kansas, on the 21st of May, ami commanded it 
until September; he was on leave of absence until De- 
cember, and rejoined the regiment at Fort Laramie, 
Wyoming, and commanded it until August, 1867, and 
again from November, 1867, to Jul}-, 1868; served as 
a member of a board convened at \\'ashington to pass 
upon a system of cavalry tactics from Jul_\-, 1868, to 
June, 1869. He served at Omaha Barracks and Fort 
Sanders, Wyoming, until retired from service March 20. 
1879. 

Colonel Palmer was brevetted major-general of volun- 
teers, and also lieutenant-colonel, colonel, and brigadier- 
general U. S. Army, for gallant and meritorious services. 
He was promoted major Second Cavaify April 25, 1861 ; 
lieutenant-colonel Second Ca\alr\- September 23, 1863; 
and colonel Second Cavalrj^ June 9, 1868. 



i6o 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAMbS GORUUN BENNETT. 

The well-known editor and proprietor of the New 
York Herald, James Gordon Bennett, was a Scotchman 
by birth, bcin^ born at Newmills, Banffshire, in that 
coiintr)', about iSoo. He was intended by his parents 
for the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church, and 
was educated for this purpose at a seminary in Aberdeen. 
But the boy by disposition and inclination was unsuited 
for such an a\ocation, and it was not lonij before it 
became plainly evident that his parents were mistaken 
in their purpose. As time went on, his growing aversion 
to the priestly calling developed into a determination 
to escape from it. I le had read Franklin's " Autobi- 
ofjraphy," and was led by it to fix upon America as the 
most suitable field for the pushing of his fortunes. In 
accordance with this idea he left the seminary and took 
pa.s.sage for the United States, landing at Halifax in 1819. 

Here the boyish immigrant remained for a short time 
engaged in giving lessons in French, Spanish, and book- 
keeping, at which he earned but a meagre living. His 
ne.xt place of residence in the New World was Boston, 
where he found the means of livelihood still more sparse, 
anil was finally .saved from threatened starvation by 
obtaining employment in a printing-office. In 1822 
he made his way to New York, his place of residence 
during most of his future life. He spent, however, a 
few months at Charleston, South Carolina, where he had 
engaged to make Spanish translations for a newspaper. 

(Jn his return to New York Mr. Bennett tried his iiand 
in various enterprises, as projector of a school, lecturer 
on political economy, anil journalist, the latter in a very 



subordinate capacity. His first effort to establish a 
journal of his own was made in iS."".,, and during the 
next ten }-ears he engaged in several similar enterprises, 
all of which proved futile. Meanwhile he was employed 
as reporter or assistant editor on several New York news- 
papers, and in the latter capacity took an active part in 
the Presidential campaign in 1828, in support of General 
Jackson. About 1830 he became associate editor of the 
Coiiriir iViti /iiKjiiinr, and in 1833 was raiseil to the 
post of chief editor of 'Jlit J\n)isyh'auiii>i, a Philadel- 
phia newspaper. As Washington correspondent of the 
Enquirer, he attracted attention by a series of letters 
written in imitation of those of Horace Walpoie. 

Up to the present time Bennett had worked hard and 
lived an absolutely abstemious life, but with little avail 
in the increase of his fortunes. The year 1835 found 
him still a poor man. In that year, however, he struck 
the vein that was to enrich him, in the establishment of 
a one-cent paper entitled the New York Herald. In his 
looking around for an associate in this enterprise he at 
first a])piieil to I lorace Greeley, who was then gaining a 
reputation as an able editor in New York. Mr. Greeley 
declined to join in the problematical venture, but gave 
Bennett the name of the party to whom he next applied, 
and who agreed to back him in the enterprise. 

The pioneer number of the new paper appeared May 
I, 1835, issuing from a cellar, in which the proprietor 
and editor played also the part of .salesman, doing triple 
duty in the su])pc)rt of his lioubtful venture. " He started 
with a disclaimer of all principle, as it is called, all 
part)-, all politics," and to this declaration of intentions 
he rigidly adhcrcil. Tiie paper was vital fiuni the start, 
filled with a variety of news, spicy correspondence, and 
personal gossip and scandal, a combination which brought 
it quickly into notice, and insured it a rapidly increasing 
sale. Beimett's industry was untiring, his editorial sa- 
gacity of the highest grade, and his unscrupulous rival- 
ship with competitors one that ga\e hin) often the pre- 
cedence in obtaining news. As a result, the Herald 
became in a short time a success, and in the course of 
years a highly valuable property, as one of the few 
leading ncw.spapers in the United States. Money was 
expended lavishly in the obtaining of news, the corre- 
spondents of the //tvvf/// sought all lands and were present 
at all ]ooints of interest, and in the la.st year of Mr. Ben- 
nett's life his enterprise was signally shown by his 
dispatch of Stanley to Africa in search of Dr. Living- 
stone, of whom for a long time nothing had been heard. 
He continued to edit the Herald till his death, which 
took place June 2, 1872. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



i6i 



JAMES GORDON BENNETT, JR. 

James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the only son, and suc- 
cessor in his journalistic career, of James Gordon Ben- 
nett, the founder of the New York Herald, was born in 
New York, Ma)' ID, 1841, cc)min<4' on the scene of action 
in the early days of that famous journal, which was 
eventually to achieve so notable a success. The striking 
career of his father we have already described. His 
mother, Henrietta Agnes Crean, had in her earl}- days 
been a poor but accomplished music-teacher of New 
York. She died in Ital\- in March, 1S73, shortly after 
the death of her husband. 

On the death of the elder Iknnctt, in June, 1872, his 
son, who liad been carefully educated, and had been 
thoroughly trained in the requisites of journalism, be- 
came his successor in the proprietorship and manage- 
ment of the Herald, which has since that time remained 
under his care. As manager of this influential sheet he 
has been remarkably enterprising, hesitating at no ex- 
pense which would be likeh' to bring the Herald to 
public notice, and quite distancing his competitors in the 
brilliancy and daring of his journalistic feats. Several 
of the more striking of these may be named. The cele- 
brated Jeannette Polar Exploring Expedition was fitted 
up and sent out at his expense, as a Herald enterprise. 
The unfortunate finale of tliis e.xpetlition — for which 
Mr. Bennett was not in tlic slightest sense responsible — 
brought it most vi\idl\- to public attention, and did much 
to arouse renewed interest in the problem of the polar 
seas. A still more notable expedition — a stroke of 
genius, as we may fairly call it, on the part of the Herald 
management — was the sending of Henry M. Stanley to 
Africa on his famous expedition in search of the great 
explorer Livingstone. The success of Stanley in this 
quest was one of the most important events in the his- 
tory of the latter half of this century, and the starting- 
point in that succession of expeditions by Stanley which 
have gone so far towards opening up the " Dark Conti- 
nent," which had so long lain under a cloud of mystery. 
The inception of this great work we owe to the happy 
thought and brilliant enterprise of Mr. Bennett, and to 
his keen judgment of men in the ciioice of the born 
explorer Stanley. A third item of Herald enterprise, 
of which mention may fitly be made, was the publica- 
tion in England of storm warnings telegraphed from the 
United States, a movement which attracted the favorable 
attention of meteorologists in general and added to the 
fame and circulation of the enterprising journal. 

For many years Mr. Bennett has made Paris his prin- 




cipal place of residence, his time being chiefly given to 
superintending the collection of foreign news for the 
pages of the Herald. In 1883 he became associated with 
Mr. John \V. Mackay in an important enterprise, that 
of organizing the Commercial Cable Company, with 
the purpose of laying a new cable between America 
and Europe to compete v.ith the combined English 
and French lines. The completion of this enterprise 
had the effect of greatly decreasing the cost of ocean 
telegraphy. 

Mr. Bennett's life has been far from exclusively de- 
voted to business. On the contrary, he has taken a 
great interest in sport, especially in yachting, of which 
for years he was an enthusiastic devotee. In this field 
he has been as enterprising and as novel in method as 
in journalism. In 1866 he took part in a memorable 
yacht-race, which had the wide Atlantic for its course, 
its terminal points being Sandy Hook and the Needles, 
Isle of Wight. This transatlantic race was won by his 
schooner-yacht, the " Henrietta," against two competi- 
tors, in thirteen days, twentv-one hours, and fifty-five 
minutes. In 1870 he sailed in a similiar race across the 
ocean, from Queenstown to New York. In this case his 
yacht, the " Dauntless," was beaten b}- the English yacht 
" Cambria," though only by the short lead of two hours. 

It will suffice to say in conclusion that the journal 
made successful by the father's enterprise and activity 
has been kept on the rising tide of success and fortune 
by the son, and that the new building of the Herald, 
with the interesting public display of its press-work, is 
one of the notabilities of the metropolis. 



i6z 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




EDWIN D. MORGAN. 

Edwin Denison Morgan, governor of New York 
during an eventful period, was born amonLj the Berk- 
shire Hills of Massachusetts on February 3, 181 1, the 
son of a farmer, aiul in the li^'luh i^^encration from 
James Morj^an, of Llandaff, Wales, who emitjrated to 
Boston in 1636. The educational advantages of tlie 
farmer's son were meagre, his only opportunity for 
" higher education" being a single term at I?acon Acad- 
emy, Colchester, Connecticut, when fifteen years old. 
Two years afterwards, in 1828, he entered a grocery 
store in Hartford, and tliree years later became a partner 
in the business. He continued thus engaged for three 
years, then came to New York and began business for 
himself He was an active and able merchant and proved 
very successful, continuing in this business for twent)' 
years, ami becoming a large im[)(>rter of teas, coffees, 
and sugars. 

His public career began while still engaged in busi- 
ness. When but twenty-one jears of age he had served 
in the city council of Hartford, and in New York entered 
politics with a similar office, that of a.ssistant alderman. 
From this time on he rose steadily in political honor. 
In 1850 and 1852 he was elected State .senator, in which 
position he was made chairman of the Committee on 
Finance. The bill establishing Central Park was carried 
by his efforts. He served as commissioner of emigra- 



tion from 1855 to 1858. In the fornKilion of the Re- 
publican party he took an active part, antl became 
prominent in its early mo\enients, being a delegate to the 
Pittsburg conference of 1856, chairman of the national 
convention that nominated Fremont, and chairman of 
the Republican national committee during the Fremont 
campaign. 

In 1858 he was maile the nominee of his part\- and 
elected governor of New York, and was re-elected by a 
large majority in i860, being thus in the gubernatorial 
chair of the l-'.mpire -State during much of the period of 
the civil war. His administration was distinguished for 
economy and a reduction of the public debt. On the 
outbreak of the war he tendered to the President all the 
resources of the State, and superintended the enli.stment 
and support of the large contingent of troops sent by 
New York to the front. He accepted the rank of major- 
general of volunteers, but declined any pa\- for his ser- 
vices. In 1862 he was chosen Senator of the United 
States, and remained a member of the Senate till 1SC9, 
his record being one of luinor and credit. President 
Lincoln twice nominated him Secretary of the Treasury, 
and at a later date President Arthur tendered him the 
same nomination ; but in each case he tleclined the prof- 
fered honoi-. 

Governor Morgan's later business relations were as 
senior partner of the well-known financial house of E. 
D. Morgan & Co., Wall Street, New York. He was also 
a director in several institutions, including the United 
States Trust Compan\-, the National Bank of Commerce, 
the Western Union Telegraph Companj-, the New York, 
Lake Eric and Western Railroad Company, and various 
others. His club connections included membersliip in 
the Union League and t)ther political and social chilis, 
while religiously he was an earnest member of the Pres- 
bjterian Church, in which he held several offices. He 
was \ ice-president of the American Tract Society for 
eigiit years, and contributed liberally to its funds. The 
Woman's Hospital of New York ninnbered him among 
its incorporators, and he was its president from 1877 to 
his death. Other institutions aided by him were the 
Union Theological .Seminary, Berkshire College, Presby- 
terian Hospital, New York City Mission, and numerous 
others, to all of which he gave liberall}-. Before his 
death he sought out all iiis surviving nephews and nieces 
(thirt_\--three in all) and gave them $5000 each. He died 
in New York, l-'ebruarj- 15, 1883. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



163 



REAR-ADMIRAL JOHN LORIMER WORDEN. 

Rear-Admiral John Lorimer Worden enjoys the 
distinction, unique in our service, of being placed upon 
the retired list, at his own request, upon full pay, the 
latter being done by special act of Congress. Admiral 
Worden's name will always be especially associated with 
the " Monitor," but he performed valuable service before 
the idea of the " Monitor" was conceived, as well as long 
after she went to the bottom. 

Rear-Admiral Worden entered the navy as a midship- 
man from his native State, New York, in January, 1834, 
and ser\ed in the Brazils and the Mediterranean be- 
fore going to the Naval School at Philadelphia. Pro- 
moted passed midshipman in July, 1840, and was in 
the Pacific for three j-ears, after which he went to the 
Naval Observatory, at Washington. He obtained his 
next two steps in the same year, master in August and 
lieutenant in November, 1846. He went out to the 
Pacific Station in 1847, ^"d served there in the "South- 
hampton," " Independence," and " W^arren," coming home 
in the line-of- battle-ship "Ohio," in 1850. For several 
years afterwards he was on dut\- at the Observatory, 
and in the Mediterranean, at the na\\'-yard. New York, 
and as first lieutenant of the frigate " Sa\annah," Home 
Squadron. 

On Ajjril 6, 1861, Lieutenant Worden repoited at 
Washington for special duty connected with the dis- 
cipline and efficiency of the naval ser\'ice, but, finding 
that ships were being rapidly fitted for service, in conse- 
quence of secession movements, asked to be relieved 
from special duty, and applied for service afloat. On the 
7th, at daylight, he was sent to Pensacola with de- 
spatches for the commanding officer of the squadron off 
that port, the orders to reinforce Fort Pickens, and 
reached there about midnight on the lOth. A heavy 
gale prevented him from communicating with the ships 
on the ne.xt day. But on the 1 2th he delivered his de- 
spatches at noon. At 3 p.m. left to return to Washington 
b}- rail. It was necessary to go via Montgomery, Ala- 
bama, and on the 13th, about 4 p.m., he was arrested at 
a station just south of the rebel capital, taken there, and 
detained as a prisoner until November 14. He was then 
paroled and ordered to report to the Secretary of War, 
at Richmond. He found that he was to be exchanged 
against Lieutenant Sharp, a Confederate who was con- 
fined on board the " Congress," at Newport News. By 
flag of truce from General Huger to Admiral Golds- 




borough, this exchange was dulv' effected November 18, 
after Mr. Worden had been more than seven months a 
prisoner. On January 16, 1862, he was ordered to the 
command of the " Monitor." The story of this extraor- 
dinar)' engine of war, and its influence on our own 
fortunes and upon na\-al construction all over the 
world, has often been told, and cannot be told too often. 
In his battle with the " Merrimac," on March 9, 1862, 
Lieutenant Worden was severely injured, and was 
obliged to be removed as soon as the action was over, 
but not until complete success had crowned the efforts 
of one who was fighting an entirely novel and untried 
vessel, which had only come in the night before from a 
perilous voyage. He was made commander, July, 1862, 
and upon partial reco\er)' was upon dut)- at New York, 
as assistant to ^\dmiral Gregory, in superintending the 
construction of iron-clads. Commander Worden com- 
manded the monitor " Montauk" from October, 1862, 
to April, 1863, in the South Atlantic Squadron. In her 
he attacked Fort McAllister, on the Ogeechee River, and 
on February 28, 1863, destroyed the Confederate priva- 
teer " Nashville," under the guns of that fort. 

On April 7, 1863, he participated in the attack of the 
iron-clads, under Admiral Dupont, upon the defences of 
Charleston. In the mean time, Februarj' 3, 1863, he 
had been promoted to be captain in the nav}-. Com- 
modore and superintendent, Naval Academy, 1 868. Rear- 
admiral commanding European Station, 1872, and much 
other service. 



1 64 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAMES F. D. LANIHR. 

Jamks Fkanki.in Dou(iHTV LANiKR.aii eminent banker 
and financier, was born in Washinj^toii, Beaufort County, 
North Carolina, November 22, iSoo. lie was descended 
from an ancient French family, of IIu<^uenot faith, who 
left their country to avoid persecution, one branch 
coming to America. James Lanier, grandfather of the 
subject of our sketch, served as a captain throughout 
the Revolutionary War, in Colonel William Washing- 
ton's light cavalry regiment, and was greatly distin- 
guished as an able and valiant officer. Major Alex- 
ander C. Lanier, his father, served under General Harrison 
in the War of 181 3, and died in 1820 from diseases con- 
tracted in military service. 

Mr. Liuiier was educated first at a pri\ate village 
school, and afterwards at an academy at Newport, Ken- 
tucky. At the end of his school life General Harrison 
procured him a cadetship at West Point, which he was 
eager to accept, but declined at the earnest reipiest of his 
mother, wlio was distressed at the thought of her only 
child leaving home. In 1819 he began the study of lau 
at Madison, Indiana, where the famil)' then lived. Me 
finished his course at the Transylvania I^iw School in 
Kentucky, graduating in 1823, and inmiediately begin- 
ning practice in Madison. 

Activity in his new profession impairing his health, he 
turned his attention to [political affairs, and served as 
assistant clerk in the Indiana Mouse of Representatives 
from 1824 to 1827, when he was elected chief clerk. In 
this position he became acquainted witli all the leading 
men of the State, and laid the foundation of his future 
success. Me continued his legal practice while thus 
engaged, until the State Bank of Indiana was chartered, 



when he withdrew from the law and took a prominent 
part in its management, he being a leading member in 
its board of control. 

The bank began business at the beginning of that era 
of speculation which led to the panic of 1837, but was 
so skillfull}- iiianagctl as to escape the fate of so nian\- 
banks of that period, and to pay large dividends to 
stockholders. It wound up in 1854, returning to stock- 
holders, in aildition to the annual dividends, nearly 
double their original investment. It was the only bank 
in the country at that time that offered to pay any part 
of its indebtedness to the government in coin. 

In 183S, Mr. Lanier attentled a con\ention of the Banks 
of the Unitetl States, held at New York, to consider the 
subject of resuming specie payments. This he warmh- 
advocated, and was backed up b\- Albert Gallatin, the 
leading spirit in the convention. Mr. Lanier was chosen 
in 1847 to seek the adjustment of the debt of Indiana, 
which had defaulted in interest on its bonds to the ex- 
tent of about $16,000,000. He went to Europe for this 
purpose, met the Rothschilds, the officials of the Bank 
of ICngland, and other financiers, and accomplished his 
mi.ssion successful!}'. He obtained nearl}- all the out- 
standing bonds, and restoretl the credit of the State. 

In 1S49, I\Ir. Lanier left Madison for New York, which 
continuetl his place of residence during the remainder 
of his life. He formed there, on January i, 1849, a 
partnership with Richard H. Winslow, the firm-name 
being Winslow, Lanier & Co., with the purpose of doing 
a general banking business, and particularlj- of dealing 
in railroad .securities. He brought with him from In- 
diana the first Western railroad bonds e\er offered in 
the New \'i)rk maiket, antl placed them with nnuh suc- 
cess. l'"or se\eral }-ears afterwards the house ditl an 
excellent business, its transactions extending widel\- 
throughnut the United States. After 1854, howe\er, the 
firm began to w itlulraw from railroad bonds anti confine 
itself principally to banking, in which it has since con- 
tinued to do a very large business. 

When the civil war broke out, Mr. I^inier, too old to 
take the field, used his influence earnestl}' in aid of the 
government, loaning the State of Indiana more than 
Sl,000,000 to equip troops and for ollur ])nrposes. In 
1864 the State ordered the repa}-ment of these advances, 
but Mr. Lanier refused to accept an}' compensation but 
the regular inteiest. In 1865 he went abroad in the 
service of the government, for the purpose of advancing 
the credit of this country in Europe, a mission in which 
he was very successful. He afterwards withdrew from 
participation in public affairs, devoted himself closely to 
business, and died in Augu.st, 1S81, nearly eighty-one 
years of age. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



165 



GENERAL EDWARD LESLIE MOLINEUX. 

Edward Leslie Molineux, brevet major-general in 
the Uniteil States volunteer arni}-, was born October 12, 
1833. After his educational period, and during his early 
ventures in business life, a native inclination towards a 
military career led him (in 1854) to join a regiment of 
the New York State National Guard. At a later date 
he entered, as a private, the Brooklj-n City Guard (the 
Thirteenth Regiment), in which he passed through the 
several non-commissioned grades. He left this regiment 
to accept an important mission to South America, soon 
after his return from w hich the ci\il war began, and a 
demand was made for patriotic citizens to rally to the 
defense of the L'nion. Mr. Molineux was one of the 
earliest to respond. He enrolled himself in the Seventh 
Regiment, and after a brief period of service in this 
noted bod)- of citizen soldiery was made brigade in- 
spector of the Eleventh Brigade, as wliich he worked 
efficient!)' in raising the Twent)--third Regiment, of 
Brooklyn. 

On tile organization of this regiment he was unani- 
mously elected its lieutenant-colonel. Shortly afterwards, 
in August, 1862, he raised a new regiment, the One 
Hundred and Fifty-ninth New York, as colonel of which, 
in November, he proceeded to the front, being as.signed 
to the Mississippi expedition of General Banks. During 
the feint against Port Hudson he commanded a detach- 
ment of the expeditionary ami)', and continued to do 
service in that campaign till April 14, 1863, when, during 
the battle of Irish Bend, he recei\cd, while leading a 
charge, a severe wound in the jaw. 

No sooner was his wound in a condition to permit 
active service than Colonel Molineux was again in the 
field, taking part in the engagements of the Red River 
campaign, and subsequently acting as inspector-general 
of the Department of the Mississippi, and later as provost- 
marshal-general and commissioner for the exchange of 
prisoners. He continued to do efficient service in this 
department for a considerable period, being next made 
military commander of the Lafourche district, Louisiana, 
with the dut)- of organizing troops or companies of 
scouts in that State ; and afterwards, upon the comple- 
tion of the celebrated dam at Alexandria, beinsj griven 
command of all the L^nion forces on the north side of 
the Red River. 

In the closing period of the war Colonel Molineux 
joined General Grant's arnn-, then operating against 
Petersburg and Richmond, and, at the head of a pro- 
visional division of the Nineteenth Army Corps, joined 
General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and took 
part in all the notable actions of that campaign. His 




zeal and gallantry at Eislier's Hill, Winchester, and 
Cedar Hill were rewarded by the brevet rank of briga- 
dier-general. His subsequent service was at Savannah, 
Georgia, whither he was sent with his brigade by sea, 
and placed by General Sherman in charge of Forts 
Pulaski and Tybee and the other miHtary works at that 
cit)-. While here he saved the ship " Lawrence," for 
which the New- York board of underwriters voted him 
a service of plate. 

The war ending. General Molineux was placed in com- 
mand of the military district of Northern Georgia, with 
head-quarters at Augusta, and while here seized for the 
government a very large sum of Confederate coin and 
bullion, valuable buildings and factories of the Confed- 
erate government, quartermaster and commissary stores 
valued at 510,000,000, and over seventy thousand bales 
of cotton. But while thus vigorously performing his 
duty as a soldier, he did this with a courtes)' anti con- 
sideration that won him general esteem, and brought 
him the thanks of the cit)' council and merchants of 
Augusta for his justice and kindness. He retinned to 
civil life as major-general b\- brevet, "'for gallant and 
meritorious services during the war." 

General Molineux subsequently became major-general 
in the New York National Guard, second division. He 
is an active member of the Lo\al Legion, the Grand 
Arm)' of the Republic, and various charitable associa- 
tions. He has been frequently nominated for office, but 
has persistently declined. His business connection is 
with the firm of F. W. Devoe & C. T. Raynolds Co., of 
New York Cit)-. Valuable papers have been contributed 
by him to periodicals on various militaf)- and civil subjects. 



1 66 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




J. C. BUSH. 

J. C. Blsii, at present a proiiiincnt acKeitising assent 
of New York, was born in Salisbur\', a town of the 
Maryland jieninsula, or tlic " ]'".astcrn Sliorc," as it is 
usually called, on October 21, 1839. Mis father. Captain 
J. C. Busli, was a seafaring man, and his son inherited a 
love for the same line of business, but had experiences 
while still very young well calculated to divert him from 
a life so full of hardships. These experiences were those 
of being wrecked and nearly drowned, of being forty 
hours without water, and of remaining three weeks in a 
vessel frozen solidly in the ice. These were enough to 
turn his desires from the ocean, but his adventurous ilis- 
position declared itself in other directions in his yoiuiger 
days. Mis education was obtained at a ]>ri\ate schot)l 
or academy, which he left in his fiftecnlh year to engage 
in business as clerk in a hardware store. Two years 
sufficed him in this line of business, and he made his 
way to Philadelphia, wiiere for three months he occupied 
a position in a wholesale notion liouse, and then entered 
the office of an insurance agent, devoting his evenings 
while there in taking a course of study at a business 
college. 

This experience entled for a time his t]uiet course of 
life. Me had it first in view to go to Mong-Kong, China, 
and fill tlieie a position in the interests of the concern 
with which he was then engaged. This project fell 
through, and the adventurous boy, disgusted at the 
failure of his design, threw up his situation and started 
West, with the ]nirpose to "grow u[) with the countr)'." 
Me made a short stay at St. Louis, and then joineil a 
party going up the Missouri to Leavenworth. I'"rom this 
place he started with some of tlie party on the Santa 
Fe trail, but the adventurers, meeting a party of Inilians 
in their war-paint, found it advisable to make all haste 



back, journeying as much as fift\- miles a da)- in their 
rapid return. Young Bush now made his way to Inde- 
pendence, Missouri, where, by way of a further achen- 
ture, lie started to run down to St. Louis on a raft, and 
narrowly escaped being drownctl, the raft being wrecked 
on a chain of rocks abo\e that city. 

After this outing, the )-oung man returned to liis native 
place, and soon afterwards sought Philadelphia again, 
where he obtained a situation with the BidtUc Mardware 
Company as tra\-eling salesman, a duty which he per- 
formed for nine months. While thus engaged he an- 
swered an advertisement in a Philadelphia newspaper, 
asking for "a young man with some ability as a solicitor 
and a knowledge of book-keeping." The advertisement 
was from N. W. Ayer & Son, the well-known advertising 
agents, though then (1S74) their business was in its early 
days. Mr. Bush had the fortune to be selected from the 
number of applicants, principall)' from the fact of his 
having a diploma from a business college. He had not 
kept books practically for more than a year, but in that 
year had gained valuable experience which pro\ ed of 
great benefit t<i him. 

Mr. Bush remained for ten years with Ayer & Son, at 
first in the book-keeping department, but subsequently 
going through e\'ery branch of the agency business, until 
finally he was cmplo)'ed in its most imi^ortant ilepart- 
ment, that of estimating and soliciting. When not bus)- 
on estimates he was on the road, being often absent for 
weeks together. He lias calculated that, during his nine- 
teen years of advertising experience, he traxelcd in all 
a half-million miles, — an average of twenty-five thousand 
miles a year. Me has been more than two hundred days 
on the road in a )-ear, twenty-five nights in a sleeping car 
in a month, and has spent several days and nights to- 
gether without slee]) when an im|)ortant and involved esti- 
mate had to be quickl)- m.ule. In this wa)- there is scarcely 
a town in this countr)- in which he has not set foot. 

In 1884 Mr. Bush resigned fi-om N. W. Ayer & Son's 
service, and went t(3 Chicago as the special representative 
in that (piarter of several Western papers. After two 
years spent here he received a tempting offer from the 
New York Sini, which brought him to the city which 
has since been his head-quarters. After three years with 
the Sun, he s]ient a )'ear in California on account of bad 
health, and on his return entereil the office of J. Waller 
Thompson, and later formed his " Star List of .Agricul- 
tural Pajjcrs." Beginning w ith se\en papers, he now rep- 
resents three times thai number. Me believes in agri- 
cultural advertising, and that belief has had much to do 
with the large patronage he has secured from the leading 
advertisers of the countr)'. Starting business with desk 
room in the Times Building, he now occupies one of the 
finest corner suites of rooms in that building, and his 
business is growing with higlil)- encouraging rajiidity. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



167 



COLONEL AND BREVET MAIOR-GENERAL STEWART 
VAN VLIET. 

Colonel and Brevet Major-General Stewart Van 
Vliet was bom in New York, and graduated from the 
Military Academy July i, 1840, when he was promoted 
second lieutenant Third Artillery. He first ser\'ed at 
Fort Columbus, New York, and participated in the 
Florida War, 1840-41, being engaged against the Semi- 
nole Iiulians in se\eral skirmishes. He was detailed at 
the Militar)' Academy as assistant professor of mathe- 
matics from September 20 to November 15, 1 84 1 , when 
he again [larticipated in the Florida War of 1841-42. 
Afterwards he served at Fort Pike, Louisiana ; Fort 
Macon, North Carolina ; and Savannah, Georgia, to 
1843, when he was promoted first lieutenant November 
19, 1843. He was then on duty at Fort Moultrie, South 
Carolina, and Savannaii, Georgia, until 1846, when the 
Mexican War occurred, and in which he participated, 
being engaged in the battle of Monterey, September 21- 
23, 1846, and siege of Vera Cruz, March 9-29, 1847. 
He was then appointed quartermaster Third Artillery, 
March 28, and ser\ed in that capacity until June 4, 1S47, 
when he was appointed captain, staff-assistant quarter- 
master, and was on duty with Missouri MoLuited Volun- 
teers, buikling posts on the Oregon route, from 1847-5 i ; 
Fort Kearney, Nebraska, 1847-49, and Fort Laramie, 
Dakota, 1849-51. He was ordered to St. Louis, Mis- 
souri, and stationed there to 1852, and then transferred 
to Fort Brown, Te.xas, ser\ing at that post and Brazos 
Santiago, Texas, until 1855. He participated in the 
Sioux Indian e.xpedition from April 3, 1855, to Juh' 17, 
1856, and was engaged in the action of \\\uc Water, 
September 3, 1855. 

Captain Van Vliet was detailed on special ser\ice in 
Utah, in 1857, and was on dut_\- in New York City in 
1857-58, from which point he was transferred to Fort 
Leavenworth, Kansas, antl served there until the com- 
mencement of the War of the Rebellion. He was pro- 
moted major, staff-quartermaster, August 20, 1861, for 
fourteen j-ears' service as captain, and appointed briga- 
dier-general of volunteers September 23, 1861, and 
served as chief quartermaster of the Army of the Poto- 
mac from August 20, 1861, to July 10, 1862, partici- 
pating in the Virginia Peninsula campaign. He was then 
ordered on iluty at New York City, furnishing supplies 




and transportation to the armies in the fiekl until ^Lirch 
31, 1867. He was brevetted major-general of volun- 
teers, March 13, 1865, for faithful and meritorious ser- 
vices during the Rebellion, and received the following 
brevets in the regular service : lieutenant-colonel, colonel, 
and brigadier-general, October 28, 1864, for faithful and 
meritorious services during the Rebellion. He was re- 
commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers, March 13, 
1865, and brevetted major-general U. S. Army the same 
date, " for faithful and distinguished ser\-ices in the quar- 
termaster's department during the war." 

He was promoted lieutenant-colonel, staff, deputy 
quartermaster- general, July 29, 1866, and mustered out 
of the volunteer service September i, 1866. He served 
as depot quartermaster at Baltimore from April 18, 1867, 
to May 13, 1869; was in charge of Schuj-lkill Arsenal, 
Pennsyhania, and chief quartermaster of the Division of 
the Atlantic to June I, 1S72, and then on leave of ab- 
sence to October 28, 1872. 

General Van Vliet was promoted colonel, staff-assistant 
quartermaster-general, June 6, 1872, and was chief quar- 
termaster of the Division of the Missouri from October 
28, 1872, to July 13, 1875, and of the Philadelphia depot 
of quartermaster's stores to November 8, 1875. He was 
then detailed as inspector of the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, with head-quarters at Washington City, to January- 
22, 188 1, when he was retired from active service, being 
over si.\t\-two years of age. 



1 68 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ASSISTANT PAYMASTHR WILLIAM ROSWKLL 
WOODWARD. 

Assistant Paymasteu William Roswell Woodward 
was born at Gcor<^ctown, D. C, Auj^ust 21, 1840. He is 
the son of Roswell and Catherine Hill, wlio, soon after 
the subject of this sketch was boin, removed to Hrook- 
lyn, New York. Paymaster Woodward's early life was 
spent at school, and lie took jjreat interest in the Volun- 
teer Fire DejKirtment of Brooklyn, ha\in;4 served his 
time (five years) with the s.iinc. 

15einrj a patriotic man, and wishing to serve in the 
navy, he was appointed by Captain Alfred Taylor, com- 
mandiii}^ the United States steamer " Galena," North 
Atlantic Squadron, ca])tain's clerk, the latter part of 



April, 1862, on the above-named vessel. L'.arly in the 
month of May, 1862, the "Galena" left for Hampton 
Roads, where, after staying a few days, it proceeded, in 
company with two or three other naval vessels, to open 
the James River. Nothing of importance occurred until 
they arrived at Drewry's Bluff, or Fort Darling, where 
the entire fleet was repulsed, and the vessels dropped 
back to City Point, Virginia. 

The ne.xt action in which he took part was at Mal- 
vern Hill, in company with the " Aroostook" and " Port 
Royal." The ne.xt morning the fleet dropped back to 
Harrison's Landing. Mr. Woodward, wlni liatl con- 
tracted a serious illness, was sent North, and upon his 
recovery was appointed. May 11, 1863, an acting assist- 
ant paymaster, w ith orders to report on board the bark 
" Ethan Allen," at Boston, Massachusetts. After leaving 
this port, most of his time was spent on the South Atlantic 
Blockading Squadron. He leniained in the service until 
.Se[)tember 4, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. 
He married, March 5, 1S67, Mary L. Townsend. 

Mr. Woodward then entered upon business in ci\ il life, 
and was at the time of his death, which occurred at his 
home in Brooklyn, July 5, 1890, the head of the large 
wholesale firm of K. Fougera & Co., New York and 
Paris. Previous to his ])urchase of the business of V.. 
Fougera & Co. he was connected with S. S. Townsend, 
in the tlye-wood and drug business, for several years. 
His son, Edward Silvanus, succeeded him in his busi- 
ness, and his widow, Mar\', survives him. 

Pa)'master Woodward was a member of the 1 lamilton, 
Rembrandt, and Brooklyn Riding and Driving Clubs, 
and a member of the New \'ork Coniin.uulcrv' of the 
Loyal Legion. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



169 



WILLIAM C. WHllNHY. 

William C. Whitnen', Secretary of the Navy during 
Cleveland's first administration, was bom at Conway, 
Massachusetts, July 5, 1841. lie comes from an old 
and prominent New England family, being descended, 
in the eighth generation, from John Whitnej', a leader 
among the English Puritans who settled at Watertown, 
Massachusetts, in 1635 ; while on his mother's side his 
ancestry can be traced back to William Bradford, gov- 
ernor of Plj-mouth colon}-. Brigadier-General Josiah 
Whitney, one of his forefathers, was an active Revolu- 
tionary officer, and a subsequent member of the Massa- 
chusetts and the United States constitutional conventions. 
His father, Brigadier-General James .S. Whitney, was in 
1854 superintendent of the United States arsenal at 
Springfield, Massachusetts, and in i860 collector of the 
port of Boston. 

Mr. Whitney received his preparatory education at 
Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Massachusetts, and 
afterwards entered Yale College, where he graduated in 
1863. He passed the following year in Harvard Law 
School, and shortly afterwanls Ijcgan ])ractice in the 
courts of New York City, where he quicklj- gained a 
reputation as a skillful and energetic lawyer, and one 
notable for his loyal devotion to the interests of his 
clients. 

Mr. Whitney's first active participation in public affairs 
was in 1 87 1 , when he took a leading part in the organi- 
zation of the Young Men's Democratic Club. In the 
following year he became a leading spirit in the County 
Democracy, a section of the party in revolt against the 
domination of the regular party leaders. The first official 
position held by him was in 1872, when he was made 
inspector of schools. In 1875 he was appointed to the 
important legal [josition of corporation counsel for the 
city of New York. The field of dut\' upon which he 
thus entered was a difficult and arduous one, on account 
of neglect of dut\- by his predecessors and general lack 
of administrative capacity and straightforward method 
in the conduct of affairs under preceding conditions. He 
found no less than three thousand eight hundred suits 
pending, a weight of responsibility which he hastened to 
sweep away. He at once reorganized the department 
with four bureaus of administration, introduced reforms 
and economies wherever possible, and so rapidly disposed 
of the pending suits that in two years he had handled 
them all and as many more which had arisen. Despite 
the great accumulation of work thus disposed of he con- 
siderably reduced the expenses of the office, and became 
distinguished for his .spirit of reform. He resigned the 
position in 1882, having, during the seven years of his 
incumbency, gained various notable legal triumphs, 
and won a high reputation for legal skill and executive 
capacity. 




In 1885, after the election of President Cleveland, to 
which Mr. Whitney had lent his efficient aid, he was 
made a nicnilier of the cabinet as Secretary of the Navy. 
The new head of the administration could not have 
chosen more wisely, the cnergv and capacity of Mr. 
Whitney being signall}- shown in his conduct of this 
important department of the government. A plan for 
the reorganization of the department was quickly pre- 
pared by him, and proved of great utilit)- in the dispatch 
of business. The new navy t)f the United States, the 
creation of which had begun in the preceding adminis- 
tration, was pushed forward by him with a vigor and 
activity which rapidly gave this country a high standing 
among the na\-al powers of the world. It was his aim 
to make the United States independent in this branch of 
the service, a purpose which called for very radical steps. 
He found this coiintr}- without facilities for the produc- 
tion of armor plates, forgings for large guns, and some 
other necessities, all of which had previously been ob- 
tained abroad. He at once induced the Bethlehem Steel 
Works to put in a new plant, at great expense to itself, 
and b)- the end of his term of office all those requisites 
were being produced in the United States of a quality 
and in a manner never before equaled. During his term 
there were fully or partly built five double-turrctcd moni- 
tors, two new coast-defense armor-clads, three armored 
and five unarmored steel and iron cruisers, four gun- 
boats, and a dynamite cruiser, with other contracts 
made. 

On the close of the administration Mr. Whitney retired 
to private life, but in 1893 became the leader of the 
Cleveland forces in the national Democratic con\-ention, 
in which he showed a fine organi^ng and controlling 
skill. He was giv-en the honorary degree of LL.D. by 
Yale in 1888. 



I/O 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM ZIEGLER. 

William 7Avr,\.v.\< was born, of Gcniian |)arcntayc, 
in Beaver County, Pcnns\lvania, September i, 1843. 
SliortK' afterwards his parents joined the westward 
moving tide of emigrants and made themsei\es a new 
home in the then young community of Iowa, near the 
town of Muscatine. Merc the boy received the sparse 
education obtained in tlie pubhc scliools of that new 
country, and in 1858 became an apprentice to tlie print- 
ing trade in the office of the Muscatine Joiinial. Two 
years sufficed to give liim a knowledge of the trade, after 
which lie spent a year at work on his father's farm, and 
then became clerk in a drug store, stuilsing telegraph)- 
in his leisure hours. 

The boy was ambitious and, despite his meagre oppor- 
tunities, determinetl to succeed, if effort could avail. In 
the autumn nf 1 S62. when just nineteen years of age, he left 
the West for I'oughkeepsie, New V'ork, where he enteretl 
I'^astman's Business College, anil after three months' hard 
work secured a iliplf)ma. In 1863 he first reached New 
York, and tlierc entered a wholesale drug house, attend- 
ing at the same time the School of Pharmacy of the 
University of the City of New York, fmni which he was 
graduated. After five years he determiiKil tn start in 
business for himself 

His ability was quickly shown. 1 Ia\ing but small 
cajjital, he began in a motlest way by sup|)lying ex- 
tracts, drugs, etc., in small cpiantities, to bakers and con- 
fectioners. In 1870 lie associated himself with some others 
for the manufacture of baking powders and other chemi- 
cal products, under the title of the Royal Chemical Com- 
pany. The sale of baking powders rapidly became 
large, and in 1873 the association was incorporated as the 
Royal Baking Powder Company. Within recent years 
there has been litigation amoii'r the members of this 



company, Mr. Ziegler becoming a jjlainliff in the suit, 
which terminated in his favor, the case being settled by 
his rccei\ing nearly Sj.ooo.ooo for his interest in the 
compan)-, from which he withdrew. In July, 1890, he 
purchased the business of tlu- Price Baking Powder 
Company, of Chicago, and in the succeeding year bought 
out the Tartar Chemical Company, of New Jersey. He 
had in 1878-79 spent some time in Europe, where he 
made an exhaustive study of the manufacture of cream 
of tartar. On his return he founded the New York 
Tartar Com]xui\', from which he withdrew in 1S86. 

Inadditicm to his cdnncction with the baking powder 
manufactiu'e, Mr. Ziegler is strongly interested in other 
in(histries. He has invested largely in Brooklyn, New 
York, and Chicago real estate, owns the largest in(li\iil- 
ual interest in the Lake Street I^levated Railroad of 
Chicago. He has besides a one-fifth interest in the 
Brooklyn Eagle, and possesses other business relations. 

In 1890, Mr. Ziegler came out in a new role, that of 
municipal reformer, much to the benefit of Brooklyn, 
then the city of his residence. I le protested vigorously 
against municipal extravagance and \icious legislation, 
particularl)' the proposed purchase of the Long Island 
Water-Supply Companj-'s plant and stock at a price far 
beyond their actual \alue. After some futile correspond- 
ence with Mayor Chapin on this subject, Mr. Ziegler took 
legal steps in the city's interests, and obtained an injunc- 
tion from the Supreme Court which ended the dishonest 
deal. By this action he saved the city at least 51,500,000. 
This vigorous operation brought him forward as a 
candidate for the mayoralty, he professing a willingness 

j to accept the nomination if Ma\<>r Chapin shouk! lun 
again. This declaration frightened the ])oliticians. Mayor 

I Chapin's name was withdrawn, and Mr. Ziegler retired 
from a contest in which lu- had no desire to enter except 
from i)urely public-spirited motives. He afterwards re- 
moved from BrookKn, and took a residence on P'iftli 

i Avenue, New York. 

' Mr. Ziegler has long been an enthusiastic sportsman. 

' particularly interested in )-achting, hunting, and fishing, 
and is a member of the Larchmont, the Atlantic, and the 

I New York Yacht Clubs. He was married to Mrs. E. M. 
Gamble, a sister of Mrs. W. Jennings Dcmorest, of New 
York, and has been much given to cruising along the 

j Sound .mil All.Mitic coasts. On April 2, 1895, it was 
re|)orted that the sloop "Robinson Crusoe," on which he 

' and his friend John G. Wells had gone on a fishing cruise, 

' liad been wrecked in Biscayne Ba\-, k'lorida, and all on 
boartl drownetl. Fortimately, this proveil an error, and 
Mr. Ziegler has probabl\' many years still of business and 
enjoyment before him. 

Mr. Ziegler is also a member of the Brooklyn, Down 
Town, Thirteen, Robins Island, Union League of Brook- 
l)'n. Union League of Chicago Clubs. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



171 



JOHN D. CRIMMINS. 

The subject of this sketch, John Daniel Crinimins, the 
well-known contractor, pLiblic man, and pliilanthropist of 
New York, — without mention of whose name a history 
of the material development and growth of Manhattan 
Islantl would be incomplete, — was born in that city May 
i<S, 1844, of Irish parentage, his father being Thomas 
Crimmins, also a well-known contractor in his day. 

Mr. Crimmins was educated at the public schools, with 
two years in St. Francis Xavicr's College. He early 
developed an aptitude for mathematics and engineering, 
and made this a special study. Entering his father's 
service at sixteen \-ears of age, he soon gave earnest of 
his future, and at twenty-one was admitted as a partner. 
Even at this age he was fully qualified to direct and plan 
intricate work requiring great skill, and recei\ed the high- 
est commendation from man\- distinguished engineers for 
carrj'ing out construction work devised by himself He 
has always been a progressive man, quick and alert, and 
was the first to make use of mechanical appliances and 
steam-drills in the city of New York. Under such in- 
fluences, the business grew and prospered, and in 1872 
he assumed full charge, his fither retiring from active 
life. For several years he conducted the business in- 
dependently, and afterwards formed a partnership w'ith 
his brother, Thomas E. Crimmins, which continues up 
to the present time. He has, however, always main- 
tained separate business connections outside the firm, 
and has been one of the large real-estate operators in 
the city. The business, of which he is the moving 
spirit, has attained vast dimensions, covering the field 
of general contracting. The firm has erected more than 
four hundred buildings in New York, built the Broad- 
wa}', Columbus Avenue, and Lexington Avenue Cable 
Roads, and done other important pieces of work. Mr. 
Crimmins is ex-president of the Metropolitan Traction 
Company and a large stockholder in the surface lines. 

Although a very bus\- man, he has found time to serve 
his city and State in \arious capacities, and alwa\-s with 
credit to himself He was city park commissioner in 1883 
and 1 888, and president and treasurer at times; served as 
a Presidential elector, a member of the constitutional con- 
vention, and was selected by President Cleveland as one 
of the Board of Visitors to West Point in 1894. 

His influence is felt in other lines than the one in 
which he is immediately engaged, he being a director 
in the Fifth Avenue and Union National Banks, a trustee 
of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, 
and a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He is 
also a member of several well-known clubs, being one 
of the board of governors of the Manhattan Club, a 
patron of the Museum of Natural History, a member of 
the Geographical Society and Museum of Arts, trustee of 
the Provident Loan Society, and treasurer of the Friendly 




Sons of St. Patrick and of the Irish National Federation, 
succeeding the late and well-known t^ugene Kelly in the 
two last-named orders. Being connected with nearly all 
the Catholic charitable societies of New York", as well as 
with a great many of other denominations, his philan- 
thropic efforts are well-directed and wide-reaching. 

Mr. Crimmins' business dealings ha\-e alwa\'s been 
marked by probit}- and sagacity, and his relations with 
his employes characterized by the broad and liberal 
spirit consistent with his public career. He meets them 
on the common ground of man to man, and has never 
refused to listen patiently to all grievances. In conse- 
quence of such treatment, he has the full confidence of 
the laboring men. Having had an extended experience 
in the employment of men, — directing as many as five 
thousand at one time, — he is considered an authority 
upon labor questions, and is often called upon to act as 
arbitrator or expert in disputes of this character. His 
last work of this kind was before the Frida\- investi- 
gating committee appointed b)- the Legislature to in- 
vestigate the causes of the Brooklyn trolley strike. His 
testimony before this committee has caused considerable 
newspaper discussion. 

Though one of the busiest men in the city of New 
York, with large and varied interests requiring constant 
care, he is not engrossed in business to the exclusion of 
the more refining influences of life. A charming man 
socially, of artistic temperament, a scholar, and a biblio- 
phile who rejoices in a collection of rare books and 
manuscripts, Mr. Crinmiins is in his element. He w'as 
married in 1868, but has been a widower for the past 
seven years, and maintains with his interesting family 
of eleven children a citj- home at 40*East Sixty-eighth 
Street and a bcautifid summer residence, " Firwood-on- 
the-Sound," at Noroton, Connecticut. 



172 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HRNRY ECKFORD RHOADHS. 

1Ii;nk\' I'x'Ki-ORi) Rhoauics was lioiii in New York- 
City on June 15, 1S44. He is a descendant of Zaeliariah 
Rhnades, wlio settled in Rehobotli, Massachusetts, after 
the arrival of the "Mayflower" (about 1630), and was 
an earl)- friend of Roger Williams. One of his grand- 
uncles was Zachariah Rhoades, who became a lieutenant 
in the navy in October, 1798, and another, William 
Rhoades, was a carpenter in tlie x\-a.\y, and resigned to 
become naval constructor for the Turkish government. 
His father was a chief engineer in the navy, anil died 
in 1885. 

Mr. Rhoade.s received his early education in the public 
schools of New York Cit)', and in 1858 began to study 
medicine, but a year later decided to become an engineer. 
While an apprentice in the Allaire Works, New \'ork, 
he took a special course in mechanical and civil engi- 
neering, and before he finished assisted in building the 
engines of the " Shamrock," " Puritan," " Dictator," and 
other war-ve.s.sels. In the early part of the civil war he 
served in tlie army as orderly on General Banks's staff, 
and also on the staff of tlie surgeon-in-chief of the 
Frederick City hospitals, Maryland. On the night of 
Se])tember 5, 1862 (the day before the Confederates 
under Stonewall Jackson occupied Freilerick Cit)'), he 
was detailetl to take charge of conducting about three 
hundred convalescent Union soldiers to Gettysburg, 
thence to ^'ork, Pennsylvania, marching pirt of the 
distance and hiring conveyances, where obtainable, to 
carry the sick men the rest of the way. 

On I'Y'bruary 11, 1865, Mr. Rhoades receiveil his com- 
mission as tliird assistant engineer in the volunteer navy, 
and after the war, in December, 1866, started on a cruise 
in the Asiatic Squadron. He was at the oi)ening of the 



ports of Hiogo, Osaka, and Kobe, Japan, on Januarj' 1, 
1868, and during the Japanese rebellion, when Prince 
Bizen's men fired on the foreign sailors in the streets of 
Hiogo, he was one of the officers in command, and led 
the engineer contingent into the mountains close to the 
rear of the Japanese force. The forces from the foreign 
vessels were kept on shore several days, during which 
time Mr. Rhoades assisted in buikliiig uji earthworks 
around the American legation. He received an honora- 
ble discharge from the \'oluntccr navy April 22, 1869, 
and on Februar)' 25, 1871, after a competitive examina- 
tion, received his commission of second assistant engi- 
neer in the regular na\')'. 

When the sloop-of-war" Juniata" was ordered, in 1S73, 
to be fitted out for a two years' cruise in the Arctic, 
in search of castaways of the Polaris Expedition, Mr. 
Rhoades applied for and received orders to dut)- on that 
vessel. Among the officers were Lieutenant-Commander 
DeLong and Lieutenant Chipp, both of whom lost their 
lives in the Arctic. While on this cruise, Mr. Rhoades, 
at his own request, was detailed with another officer to 
leatl an expedition to prospect for coal on the Greenland 
coast ; making the search in a small steam-launch, and 
sleeping at night in the Esquimaux skin sleeping-bags, 
and under canvas tents. His search was successful, three 
\'eins of excellent bituminous coal being discovered, from 
which he and four men got out about thirty tons. The 
mine was named b\- him and Ensign Keelerthe " Plureka." 
(His report on this coal, for which he was complimented 
by the Secretai-)' of the Navy, was printed in the report of 
the Navy Dej^artment for 1873.) 

This expedition, however, proved unfortunate for him, 
since during it he contracted angina pectoris (neuralgia 
of the heart), a severe disease from which he has suffered 
intensely since, and which, greatl_\- to his regret, causetl 
him to be |)laced on the retired list on December 31, 
1874. In 1869 he married Miss Sarah M. Stone, a de- 
scendant of Samuel Stone, the fountler of Hartfonl, 
Connecticut. 

Mr. Rhoades has liveti in Mount Vernon, New York, 
for several years. In 1S89 he was offered the consul- 
ship at Yokohama by Secretar\- Blaine, but declined 
because of an opinion b)- the Attorney-General that to 
accept would mean resignation of his navj' commission. 
In 1892 he was offered tlic Kejiubiican nomination fo|- 
Congress from the sixteenth New York district, but lie- 
clined it. In 1893 he was elected a member of the Board 
of Education, and in 1 S94 was re-elected for the long or 
four years' term. He has been cmplojcd on the staff of 
the New York Tribune for several years, as marine re- 
porter, commercial reporter, and assistant city editor, and 
in 1893 he was made assistant eilitor of tlie Tnhiinc 
Aliitanac. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



173 



CAPTAIN CLINTON B. SEARS. 

Captain Clinton B. Seaks (Engineer Corps) was 
born in New York June 2, 1844, and graduated at the 
Military Academy June 17, 1867, and promoted first 
lieutenant the same day. He entered the volunteer 
service as private of Company G, Ninety-fifth Ohio 
Infantr\', Jul)- 24, 1S62, and was promoted corporal sub- 
sequcntl)-. 

He participated in Buell's campaign after Bragg, 
and in the Stone River campaign, where he was on 
detached duty. He rejoined his regiment in February, 
1863, at Memphis, Tennessee, and participated in the 
Vicksburg campaign, and in several minor actions, having 
been engaged in the battle of Richmond, Kentucky ; 
battle of Perr\-\illc, Kentucky; both assaults on Vicks- 
burg, Mississippi, and two attacks on Jackson, Missis- 
sippi. He was honorably mentioned in general orders 
from the head-quarters of his regiment, and " specially 
commended for gallantry in volunteering to carry the 
regimental colors," and was apjiointed color-sergeant 
April 25, 1863. 

He has meritorious mention by name in General Or- 
der No. 66, 1S63, head-quarters Fifteenth Army Corps, 
and recommended to the Secretary of War for appoint- 
ment as cadet at the U. S. Military Academy. He was 
recommended for the same position, also, by Generals 
Grant and Sherman, and was so appointed September 
16, 1863. 

After graduating in 1867, he was promoted first lieu- 
tenant of the U. S. Corps of Engineers, and was detailed 
as assistant instructor of artillery tactics and practical 
military engineering at the Militar}' Academy from Jul\- 
5 to August 31, 1867, when he was placed on duty with 
the Engineer Battalion to February i, 1869; then was 
assistant instructor of practical military engineering, 
signalling, and telegraphy at the Military Academy to 
February i, 1870. 

He then entered upon regular engineering duty, as 
assistant engineer on Lake Erie harbor improvements, 
to March 23, 1870; engineer officer on the general staff. 
Military Division of the Pacific, to July 21, 1870; chief 
engineer on staff of General Canby, Department of the 
Columbia, to May 6, 1871 ; assistant engineer on the 
defences of San Francisco harbor to August 14, 1871 ; 
executive engineer in charge of improvement of Wil- 
mington harbor, California, to September 3, 1875; tem- 
porarily detached, February, 1873, to make a survey for 
the improvement of Estero Bay, at Moro, California; 
on leave October i, 1875, to January i, 1876; assistant 
engineer defences of Boston harbor to August 28, 1876; 
at the U. S. Military Academy as principal assistant pro- 
fessor of civil and military engineering to August 25, 
• "^Tl ! principal assistant professor of geography, history, 
and ethics, to July I, 1S78; and principal assistant pro- 




fessor of natural and experimental pliilosopln- and as- 
tronomy to April 13, 1882; also during the last year 
in charge of the construction of the new Astronomical 
Observatory at West Point ; executive-officer Construc- 
tion Department, Mississippi River Commission, with 
station at St. Louis, Missouri, from April, 1882, to April, 
1884; in charge of Third District, improving Mississippi 
River, with station at Vicksburg, Mississippi, and after- 
wards at Memphis, Tennessee, to May 14, 1886; tem- 
porarily in charge of the Second District from August 
31, 1884, to March 10, 1885 ; and of the First and Second 
Districts from July 6 to October 6, 18S5 ; on leave of 
absence to September 14, 1886 ; in charge of the improve- 
ment of Upper Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, and 
from March 28, 1887, of the improvement of roads and 
bridges, Yellowstone National Park, to April 16, 1888, 
with station at Bismarck, Dakota Territory, and after- 
wards at St. Paul, Minnesota; assistant to the chief of 
engineers in charge of the First and Second Division of 
the office at Washington, D. C, to June 18, 1890. On 
dut}" 'Aith the Battalion of Engineers, in command of 
Compaii)' A, and instructor of submarine mining, U. S. 
Engineer School, Willet's Point, New York, at the present 
time; on special dut\- in June, 1889, at Johnstown, Penn- 
sN'hania, in charge of construction of pontoon bridges in 
aid of the survivors of the great flood. He was promoted 
captain April 9, 1880. 

Captain Sears is the author of " Principles of Tidal 
Harbor Improvements" and " Ransom Genealogy." He 
is a member of the New York Society of the Sons of 
the Revolution and D. C. Society Sons of the American 
Revolution, and of the American Institute of Civics ; 
Fellow National Academy of Design ; member Mili- 
tary Order Loyal Legion, U. S. ; honorary degrees of 
A. B. from Ohio Western University, 1881 ; of A. M., 
1884. 



174 



MAKF.RS or XF.W YORK. 




ROBERT L. BHLKNAl'. 

Robert Licnox Bki.knai' was born in the city of New 
York, July 23, 1848, his father, Aaron B. Iklknap, being 
a lawyer of that city and connected with many of its 
charitable and other public institutions. lie received 
his preparatory education at the Collegiate School, and 
subsequently entered Columbia College, from which he 
graduated with the degree of A.B. in 1869. In 1872 the 
college conferred on him the degree of A.M. 

His educational life was followed 1)\- a business career, 
at first in the establishment of Fuller, T.ord & Co., 
merchants and manufacturers; from which employment 
he withdrew in 1871 to accept the position of vice-presi- 
dent of the Mercantile Loan and Warehouse Compan>-. 
Ill health, however, forced him soon to resign from this 
position and take a journey to Europe for recuperation. 
He returned in 1S73, and again engaged in Inisiness, and 
in 1879 was made treasurer of the Northern Pacific 
Railroad Company, which, after a long jieriod of deca- 
dence following the Jay Cooke failure of 1873, was again 
beginning the work of construction. His connection 
with this corporation continued until 1888, he taking an 
active part in its completion, ami in its subsequent de- 
velopment of business as one of the great channels of 
freight and travel to the Pacific coast. 

His connection with this road led him to recognize the 
im|)ortancc of Lake Superior navigatinn. and he took 
part in the formation of the I^md anil River Improve- 
ment C<impany, devoted to this pur])o.se. In 1883 this 
company founded the town of West Superior, an adjunct 
of the city of Superior, Wisconsin. In 1SS5, Mr. Bel- 



knap, in associations with others, bought a controlling 
interest in the 1 )ulutli Gas and Water Company, he being 
made its president. He also, in 18S8, became president 
of the Duluth Loan and Debenture Company, organized 
b}- him. Both these companies have been very success- 
ful in their operations. 

In 1887 he became interested in the manufacture of 
electrical machinery, it becoming evident to him that 
electricit}- was soon to replace horse-power in street-car 
traction. In 1890 he organized the United Electric 
Traction Comjiany, an association which went out of ex- 
istence before the md of the year, its finances being af- 
fected by the disturbance in business tlue to the " Baring 
failure." 

In aiUlition to his biisiness relations, Mr. Belknap has 
taken much interest in social, military, and other affairs. 
In 1 866 he joined Company A of the Seventh Regiment 
of New York. A few years afterwards he transferred 
his nuinbirship to Compan\' K, of which for several 
years he was i^resident. In 1873 he became commissar\- 
of subsistence, ranking as captain, on the staff of General 
Ward, commander of the First Brigade. He was suc- 
cessiveK' promoted to other positions, and in 1876 be- 
came lieutenant-colonel and chief of stalT. In 1880 he 
resigned from active service, and was made colonel by 
brevet. While acting in 1875 as assistant inspector- 
general he made a series of reports which eventuated in 
important reforms in the service, and began a new era in 
the organization anti management of the National (luard 
of New York. 

He has been and is a menibei- of man\- clubs anil 
societies. During his college life he joined several college 
organizations, and for two )'cars afterwards served as 
|)resident of the Psi Upsilon Club. He is at present a 
member of numerous New York clubs, and also of clubs 
situated in .Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth and St. Paul, 
Minnesota. He is a member and manager in the Society 
of Sons of the Revolution, and has a hereditary member- 
ship in the Order of the Cincinnati. The recently organ- 
ized Society of the Colonial Wars also claims him as 
a hereditary member. P'or a periotl he was one of the 
vice-presidents, anil is still a member, of the Presbyleii.m 
Union of New York City. 

Mr. Belknap served as secretary of the Niagara Falls 
Association, to whose efforts was due the ownership of 
the land ailjoining the American Fall by the State of 
New York, thus preserving this important tract for public 
use. He has also given much time to ch.irilable work, 
anil is a member of several benevolent institutions and 
church organizations. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



175 



A. G. MILLS. 

A. G. Mills, \ice-presidcnt and secretary of the Otis 
Elevator Company, has long been a prominent citizen of 
New York, and particularly identified with athletic sports 
and the preservation of the natural attractions of the Adi- 
rondacks. \Vc shall not speak here of the great busi- 
ness with which he is identified, this being sufficiently 
described in our sketches of the three Otis members of 
the coni[ian_\-. It will suffice to say that the executive 
management of that extensive industry, as now organized, 
falls largel)- on the shoulders of Mr. Mills, and that he 
is thoroughl}- fimiliar w ith its details and lends a directing 
hand to its every movement. But outside the interests 
of business Mr. Mills spends a life of the utmost activity 
and usefulness, and it is to these phases of his career 
that our attention shall be particularly directed. 

Though he has recently passed his fiftieth year, his 
energy is in no sense diminished, and his activity in club 
and social life, in athletic ami sporting interests, is unsur- 
passed. As a boy he fought in the Union arm\', and is 
prouder to-day of the bronze star of the Grand Arm\- 
and the silken button of the Lo\-al Legion than of all 
the other marks of honor he has received. He has twice 
served as Commander of Lafaj'ette Post, G.A.R., the 
largest and most important post in the State, and per- 
formed the man\- duties which devolved upon him in 
this office with an industry and military precision which 
made his administration a marked one in the history of 
the organization. 

In his \'outhful days he was devoted to and a crack 
amateur player in the national game of base-ball, and 
has ne\'er lost his enthusiastic interest in this American 
sport, nor in field sports in general. No man in this 
country has done more than he in the development of 
athletic interests, and three important progressive move- 
ments are due solely to his energy and judgment. The 
first of these is the national agreement of base-ball 
clubs which Ijrought harmon_\- out of confusion; the 
second, the settlement of the persistent disagreement 
between the National Association of Amateur Athletes 
and the Amateur Athletic LTnion ; ami the third, the 
recent reorganization of the Amateur .\thletic Union, 
through which has come a great increase of interest in 
field sports throughout this countrj-. Mr. Mills was 
unanimously elected a few \-ears ago president of the 
New York Athletic Club. He declined a rciiomination, 
but preserves an active interest in the club. 




He is a lover ot mountain, lake, ami forest, and of 
out-door sport in its every form, and this proclivity has 
awakenetl in him the strongest interest in Adirondack 
affairs. L'inding the West Side Inn, at Lake Placid, in 
a sadly run-down condition, he organized a company, of 
which he became and continues president, and transformed 
this shiftless establishment into the present well-kept and 
profitable Whiteface Inn. Also, finding the lake level 
fluctuating through the o[)erations of a party of mill- 
owners at its outlet, he organized the Lake Placid Shore 
Owners' Association, which secured control of the dam 
at the outlet, and now caiefLdI)- maintains the lake at the 
desired level. 

In 1890 the .Adirondack League Club was formed. 
To this organization, controlling over two hundred and 
seventy-five square miles of the wilderness, and devoted 
to the preservation of the forest and the protection of 
fish and game, Mr. Mills gives much time and energy, 
and for several years past has served as president of the 
club, whose far extending interests he largely administers. 
In city affairs he is very prominent in social and club life, 
belonging, in addition to si.x veteran associations, to a 
large number of clubs, scientific and art associations. 
He is a partisan in politics, but has persistently declined 
the nominations to high political offices which have been 
offered him. In spite of his business and social interests 
he is essentiall)- dimiestic in tastes, and there is no more 
delightful home life than that enjoyed by one who might 
seem solely de\oted to out-door affairs. 



176 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




NATHANIHI. TUTILH. 

The subject of this skctcli was lioin April 2\ , 1S4S, 
at Croton-on-IIuclson, New York. He is tlesccncied 
from Puritan and patriotic ancestry, the Tuttles beiny; 
among the early immigrants to this countrv, w here they 
arris'cd in the ship " Planter" in 1639. Mr. Tuttlc's 
earl)' life was passed on his father's farm, whose rough 
and stony surface resembled that of all farms in the 
northern section of Westchester County. He attended 
the district school, and after the death of his father in 
1866 taught the same during the winter and spring of 
1 866 and 1867. Later he attentled and graduated from 
a leading commercial college. 

He began his business career on the New York Tribune 
in 1868, and has been identified with it ever since. He 
was rapidl)' [iroTnotetl, and in 1S7S was made cashier. 
(Jn the death of Mr. lulward Clarke in 18S8 he took his 
place in the board of trustees of the Tridinic, and as 
manager of the advertising department, in addition to 
his other duties. Wlien Mr. Reid left for his post as 
United States minister to France in 1 889, he placed the 
management of the Tribune in the hands of Messrs. 
Tuttle, Niciiolson, and Hall. Mr. Reid has not taken 
uj) the details then laid df)wn, and the paper is run 
to-day in substantially the way in which lie then ar- 
ranged it. 

Mr. Tuttle is greatly interested in e\erytliing that 
improves or makes more attractive the metropolis of 
which he is a citizen. He is a member of the Metro- 
politan Museum of Art and the American Museum of 
Natural History, ami is also a member of the Sons of 
the American Revolution. In politics he is a Republican 
and Protcctioni.st, being a member of that vigorous or- 
ganization, the West Side Rejjublican Club. 



Mr. Tuttle has been a close observer of liie improve- 
ments in the printer's art, and has collected valuable 
memoranda and data, covering almost everj' conceivable 
])hase of the publishing and newspaper business. These 
include the sources of income of the Tribune, the per- 
centage from every source for each j'ear, and the causes 
which operated to change them from year to \-ear ; also 
the expenses, embracing the jjcrcentage of the total of 
ever)- conceivable expense, for every year, and the reasons 
for their increase or decrease from the normal. He has 
also diagrams showing the circulation of each edition, 
its increase or decrease, and the causes operating to pro- 
duce these changes. Any one familiar with newspapers 
knows how important such facts are, leading, as they do, 
to a perfect uniformity of accounts, anil giving a com- 
plete control of all the working details of a publishing 
enterprise. He possesses, in addition, also less complete 
tlata of a great many other papers. Mr. Tullle believes 
that the information he has thus brought together is for 
the highest benefit of the paper with which he is con- 
nected, lie belongs to no Publishers' Association or 
other organization of similar aims. He was one of the 
incorporators of the Mergenthaler Printing Company, 
and was connected with it until it became merged with 
the present Mergenthaler Linotx-jjc Company. The ma- 
chine controlled !))• this company has revolutionized the 
printer's art. 

New York journalism, notuilhstanding the talk to 
the contrary, is essentially personal, and the controlling 
spirits in each paper are well known. There is room 
for but one great reputation, except in distinct lines, at 
any one lime in connection with any one of these jour- 
nals. The rest are simply assistants, however able the)' 
may be in their respective duties. Mr. Tuttle's reputa- 
tion is interwoven wilh that of the Tribune, to whose 
success financiall)- he has contributetl. The Tribune 
has worked intelligently in all i)ossihle wa\-s for the 
public good, and its suggestions frequent!)- result in 
legislative enactments for the benefit of the city and 
good citizenship, with all that it implies. 

Mr. Greeley, at the end of his disastrous Presitlenlial 
campaign in 1872, believed that he had ruinetl the Tribune, 
with liimself and his friends as well. A great maii)- 
othcrs believed the same, )-et Whitelaw Reid, out of this 
serious conditiiin i>f affairs, has brought it to its present 
success, it being to-day seconil to no other paper in the 
land, magnificently housed, and efficiently e(iui])ped in 
every de]>artment. Its circulation is now far in excess 
of that of any previous period for ever)- edition, and its 
influence has grown correspondingly more extendeti. 
In any work, tliercforc, devoted to the makers of New 
York, it is entitled to a full consideration, as among 
the most important of the moulding influence of the 
metropolis. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



177 



FREDERICK A. BURNHAM. 

Frederick A. Burnham, an acti\c practitioner at the 
New York bar, was born in Burrilhillc, Rhode Island, 
on January 7, 185 I. lie is a lineal descendant from an 
old luiglish family of note in its day, and which, on the 
accession of Charles II. to the throne of Great Britain 
and Ireland, found itself coniiiclled to emigrate to 
America. This step was taken in consequence of its 
acti\-e participation in the Pin'itan Revolution and the 
affairs of the Commonwealth, and its pronounced oppo- 
sition to the house of Stuart. Its enforced emigration, 
as is well known, was shared b_\- many of the same po- 
litical views. 

Mr. Burnham received his primar)- education at the 
old Bacon Academy, situateil at Colchester, Connecticut, 
where he obtained a good educational groundwork. He 
then continued his studies at the college at Middletown, 
where he obtained a full collegiate education and stood 
high among his fellow-students, graduating with high 
honors as the valedictorian of his class. Having chosen 
the field of legal practice as his future profession he 
entered as a student at the Albany Law School, where 
he took a full course of study, graduated, and was ad- 
mitted to practice at the bar in 1873. Immediately after 
his admission to the bar Mr. Burnham removed to New 
York City, and entered there upon the practice of his 
profession, giving his particular attention to commercial 
and insurance law. to which branches of the profession 
his inclination strongly led him. In these fields of legal 
activity he was quickly successful, and in time gained' a 
large practice, his reputation for deep knowledge of the 
law and skilled advocacy of his clients' claims bringing 
him numerous important suits, which involved large 
interests. His success in many of these suits was so 
marked as to place him at the head of the junior bar of 
New York City. 

Mr. Burnham's early inteiest hatl been directed to the 
channels of charity and bene\'olence, and he made a 
thorough stud\- of the sex'eral benevolent organizations 
of New York Cit_\', becoming so familiar with their pur- 
poses and workings as to make him a recognized au- 
thority in all such enterprises. 

In 1877 he joined the Society of Freemasons, in 
which he took a deep and abiding interest, and rapidly 
passed through its several subordinate stations, display- 
ing signal abilit)- in the work of the order. He advanced 
to the important position of Chief Commissioner of Ap- 
peals, a post which he retained for many years, and 
in which his opinions were noted for the clearness with 
which they were expressed and the strength of their 
logic. Passing, stage by stage, through all the grades 
of the order, he attained eventualh- its highest level of 




promotion, being, on June 7, 1893, unanimously elected 
Grand Master of the Masonic Society for the State of 
New York. In this exalted position his services to the 
societ}- ha\e been invaluable, and through his able ad- 
ministration of its interests the craft has attained a degree 
of prosperity and usefulness hitherto unknown in its 
history. 

Mr. Burnham's skill in insurance law is of the highest 
order, and has been recognized in his selection as the 
head of the legal department of the Mutual Reser\-e 
Fund Life Association, a post at once of honor and 
responsibilit)-. In this important position the association 
has found him a legal adviser of the highest powars, and 
by his ability and care he has succeeded in detecting and 
frustrating various frauds attempted to be perpetrated 
upon the company, by the signal defeat of which he has 
saved many thousands of dollars annuall}- for the honest 
policy-holders, and at the same time has more firmly 
established the reinitation for equity and honesty long 
enjoyed by the association. The results thus accom- 
plished b\- the legal department, under the direction of 
Mr. Burnham, are an evidence of the judgment with 
which this association is conducted, since it would have 
been difficult to select an abler coun.sellor, or one whose 
capacity and conservative management could have won 
so fully for the Mutual Reserve the confidence of its 
policy-holders and of the public at large. 

At the bar and in all the commercial undertakings 
with which Mr. Burnham has been connected, as well 
as in his social relations with his fellow-man, he has 
always been a leader and tlirector, winning friends in 
numbers, and admired and esteemed bv all those with 
whom he comes mto contact. 



i;S 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




DANIEL S. LAMONT. 

Hon. Daniel Scorr Lamont, Sccrcteuy of War of llic 
present administration, was born at McGrawville, Cort- 
land County, New York, February 9, 185 i. He was of 
Scotch-Irish ancestry, wlio emigrated to tiiis countiy 
and engagetl in the business of farming, which was con- 
tinued to tlie time of liis fatlicr, a well-to-do farmer of 
the above-named localitj'. The son, who like several 

other farmers' sons was destined to advance from the 

1 

firm to one of the highest positions in the gift of the 
nation, was educated at first in the Cortland Normal 
College, whence he passed to Union College, Sche- 
nectady, New York. He did not graduate, but left 
college before the termination of his course to engage in 
journalism, for which profession he had a strong preili- 
lection. 

Mr. Lamont's first venture in his chosen profession 
was as editor f>f the l^cinocral, a paper [)tibiisiicd at tile 
county-seat of Iiis nati\e county, and which he purchaseil 
as a preliminar)' step. In the editing of this party sheet 
he became warmly interested in politics, becoming .so 
useful in the service of his party that in 1870 lie was 
made engrossing clerk of the New York .State Assembly 
and chief clerk in the de[)artmcnt of the secretary of 
state. This was a notable progress considering liis youth 
at that date. His political positions ditl not prevent him 
from continuing his journalistic work, and for some time 
he served on the staff of the Albany A/xi/s, a line of 
work which made him favorably known to many of the 
most influential politicians of the day. 

Among those witJi whom he became thus accpiainted 
was Grover Clevehuul, who during tliis period was elected 1 
governor of New York. He became very well di.sposed I 



towards \-oung Lamont, and made use of his journalistic 
skill as an aiil in the preparation of his first guberna- 
torial message. For the ability shown in this labor 
Governor Cleveland rewarded his young assistant with 
an honorary position on his staff, with the title of colonel, 
— a military appellation b\- which he is still generally 
known. Shortl}- afterwards he appointed him his private 
secretar)-. a field of dut\- in which Mr. Lamont proved 
so useful anil \-aluable that on the election of Cleveland 
to the Presidency he took his secretar\- with him, and 
appointed him private secretary in his much wiiler field 
of duty. 

In this office Mr. Lamont proved an invaluable as- 
sistant, his tact and courtesy being of the greatest ser- 
vice to his chief, while smoothing the way of visitors to 
the White House. The President could not but be 
grateful for the manner in which his secretary lightened 
his labors, w hile the courteous secretary became univer- 
sall_\- |)opiilar among the President's \isitors, and gained 
high praise for the judgment, lo\-alt\- to his chief and 
attention to visitors with which he fulfilled his official 
duties. 

After the clo.se of the administration, Mr. Lamont 
formed an important connection with a syndicate of capi- 
talists, and became engaged in the management of valu- 
able interests. His loyal ile\-otion to the interests o( 
the e.x-President continued, howe\cr, he compiling a 
pamphlet collection of Mr. Cleveland's speeches and 
addresses, w hich he heatled with an original phrase which 
has become a household u orti with political reformers : 
'■ Public Office a Public Trust." This was a condensation 
of an expression used b)- Mr. Cleveland in his letter 
accepting the nomination for maj'or of Ihilfalo: " Public 
officials are the trustees of the people." In its later form 
it is strikingly suggestive, and inilicates the leading prin- 
ciple of Mr. Cleveland's official career. 

The final chapter in Mr. Lamont's history, so far as 
that history is at present imfolded, remains to be told. 
In 1893, on I'resiilenl Cleveland choosing the cabinet 
officials for his seconil administration, he selected his 
friend and former secretary to occup\' the important |)ost 
of Secretary of War. As regards this appointment, it 
may be said that Secretary Lamont, while, like some 
other members of the cabinet, ha\ing had no special 
training fitting him to be war minister, is a verj- ca])able 
man, and one possessed of unusual executive powers, 
qualities often of more value than previous experience. 
Uuring his period of incumbency of the office he has 
very .satisfactorily performed its responsible duties, and 
|)roved himself an able successor to the many prominent 
statesmen and soldiers who have preceded him in this 
important cabinet position. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



179 



T. J. OAKLEY RHINELANDER. 

T. J. Oaki.ev Rhinelandek, a member of the New 
York bar, was bom in the city of New York in June, 
1858. Mis ancestry is a highly honorable one, the 
family to which he belongs having been prominent in 
the history of the State and city from early colonial 
days. The Crugers, from whom he is descended on the 
mother's side, have long occupied an eminent position in 
the State of New York, and may lay claim to the first 
rank in American society so far as any claim to rank 
can be properly advanced in tiiis countr\- of tieinocratic 
institutions. On his father's side he is descended from 
Philip Jacob Rhinelander, who came to America in 16S5, 
immediately after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
settling here at first in New Rochelle, but afterwards 
making his home in New York, then a city which to-day 
would be called a hamlet, occupying a small space on 
the southern extremit}- of Manhattan Island. With the 
succeeding growth and development of this city the 
family has been closely identified, continuing to reside 
here, generation after generation, and constantly taking 
a prominent ]:>art in the social and political life of New 
York. William Rhinelander, the father of the subject of 
our sketch, succeeded to the management of the great 
Rhinelander estate, one of the largest existing in the city 
after that of the Astors. Of this estate one interesting 
building continued among the remaining laiulmarks of 
old New York until 1892, when it was removed to make 
way for a great modern building. This was the Rhine- 
lander Sugar House on Rose Street, which had been 
used by the British as a prison from 1777 to 1782. The 
main entrance of the new structure is built of stone and 
brick taken from the old building, and one of the origi- 
nal windows is also Ijuilt into the new edifice, which thus 
prcser\es some historic relics of the ancient structure. 

John Cruger, Mr. Rhinelander's maternal ancestor, 
settled in New York Cit\' in 1696, and married Miss 
Cu}-ler, of Alban\-, thus bringing into the family line 
another pronn'ncnt family of old New York. He be- 
came mayor of the city in 1739, antl was annualK' re- 
appointed till 1744, when he died in office. His son 
Henr\' was also prominent in colonial New York, hold- 
ing, with other offices, those of membership in His 
Majesty's Council and chamberlain of the city of New 
York. His son, also named Henry, resided in England, 
where he became mayor of Bristol in 1781. He was 
a member of Parliament, and the only member of that 
body who had the courage, if not the audacit)-, to 
declare on the floor of the House that the American 
colonies had the right to be free. Meanwhile his father 
had become one of the most active and determined 
Revolutionary leaders in the city of New York. 




--^, 



It is from the Crugers that Mr. Rhinelandci- deiives 
his title to membership in the Society of the Colom'al 
Wars, which he can also claim from Hendrik Cu}-Ier, 
who served as captain and major in the Alban\' troop 
during the French and Indian War. During the Revo- 
lutionary War one of his maternal great-grandfathers, 
Jesse Oakley, raised his own company, which he led in 
many battles of the war. The formerly famous Judge 
Oakley was his grandfather. 

Mr. Rhinelander was educated in the academic de- 
partment of Columbia College, where he graduated in 
'78 with the degree of A.B. He subsequently studied 
law, and in 1880 graduated from the same institution 
with the degree of LL.D. He was called to the bar, 
but has no available time to de\-ote to practice, the 
management of the Rhinelander estate absorbing all 
the leisure hours at his disposal. The time not thus 
occupied is taken up in social duties, in which, follow- 
ing the example of his ancestors, he takes a prominent 
part. He is also active in all movements of a progres- 
sive character, and is an American of a prominent cast 
of patriotism. 

Mr. Rhinelander is a member of numerous associa- 
tions, among them the Seventh Regiment, to which he 
has belonged for years. He also is a member of the 
Sons of the Revolution, the St. Nicholas Societ)-, So- 
ciety of 1 812, as well as the Huguenot Society, and 
is lieutenant-governor of the Society of the Colonial 
Wars. He is in addition governor of the Seventh Regi- 
ment Veteran Club, vice-president of the Seventh Regi- 
ment \'cteran League, president of the Delta Phi Col- 
lege Club, and is a member of the IV^tropolitan, Union, 
and Countrv Clubs. 



i8o 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLES DAVID STHURHR. 

CiiAKi.iuS David Steukek is ;i iiali\c of New York 
City, where he was born October i8, 1859. In his earli- 
est \'ear.s he manifested those cliaracteristics wliich were 
to influence and direct a successful business career, in- 
cluding enthusiastic persistency, moral courage in the 
face of ovcrwhelmintj difficulties, uprightness of life and 
aims in social and business life, and a wonderful mastery 
of detail. His education was secured at tlie public 
schools, but the untimely death of his father limited his 
educational opportunities, and, wlien not quite fifteen, he 
was compelled to abandon iiis books. He was at that 
time a member of the graduating class. 

Mr. .Stcurer's first business e.xperiencc was secured in a 
jMinting-office in New York, where he recei\ed his earliest 
acquaintance with newspaper work, and developed an am- 
bition to liave, some day, a printing establishment of his 
own. Tile publishing and printing facilities of that earlier 
office were meagre in the extreme, compared with printing 
establishments of the present time. An old Washington 
liand-press t)'|>ified the equipment of the little office. 

With increasing knowledge of liis chosen occupation, 
the boy began to look forward to the larger opportunities 
wliich it hehl out. Thus, one bright morning, accom- 
panied by another boy of iiis own age, and a few jjcnnies 
as capital between them, the lads directed their steps 
towards " Newspajjer Row," where, after some failures 
and rebuffs, a place was found with the [)rinting-house of 
Wynkoop & Hailcnbeck, at that time situated in Fulton 
Street, near Nassau. I lere he completed his apprentice- 
sliip, his industry and faithfulness winning him the con- 
fidence and esteem of liis employers. Appreciation of 
iiis proficiency was soon exhitjited in a practical way. 
Wiien tile old comic ])aper Wild Oii/s ])urcliased its own 
plant, tile proj^rietors induced Mr. Steurer to take a posi- 



tion in the new establishment. He did so, and gave such 
satisfaction that, when but eighteen years of age, he was 
advanced to the position of proof-reader. He remained 
connected with this paper until it went out of existence. 

It was not difficult, however, to find a new place, em- 
ployment soon l^eing obtained in the well-known print- 
ing-house of Jolin Polhcmus, tlien located at Nassau and 
Ann Streets, wliere iie was engaged for several years, 
expanding in knowledge and skill and gaining tiie respect 
and confidence of his emjjloyer. Wlien the publisiiers 
of tile old Thoiiipsoii's Banh-Notc Reporter incpiired of 
Mr. Poihemus if he could recommend a capable and 
faithful young man to take charge of tiieir printing 
department, the choice fell upon Mr. Steurer. In this 
new field of dut\' he (inickK- developed an excellent 
executive capacity, aiul in time won the unqualified 
confidence of liis enij)loj-ers. His presence as a prac- 
tical force was soon perceptible in the im[)roveil ap- 
l^earance of the publications of the estal:)lisiiment, and 
the introduction, at his instance, of new jirinciples of 
practical management. So successfully did he meet tiie 
requirements of this position that he was finalK^ [ilaceil 
in sole charge of the printing department of the iiouse, 
and when, in 1884, tiic establishment was destro\-ed by 
fire, he was intrustet! with the responsibility of replacing 
the material for the purpose of continuing business. 

In the fall of 1885, Mr. Steurer, in association willi Mr. 
Anthony Stumpf, an old friend, purciiased the enterprise 
with which he was now fiilly identified, and tiie present 
publishing iiouse of Stumpf & Steurer was formed. Tlic 
titles of the older publications used by the predecessors 
of tile new firm were abandoned from considerations of 
business policy, the ilirectory of banks publisiied b\- tiie 
house being named the Aiiieriean Ban/: Reporter, ami 
the weekly financial jnurn.d the Aiiierieait /uiiiker. 

Mr. Steurer uiulertook the business management of 
the new enterprise. In tiie multifarious details of office- 
work and the management of a large and increasing 
correspondence, iiis ])redominating quality, tiie coni])lete 
and easy mastery of iletail, came into pla)'. In 1887 the 
firm purchased tlie plant of the Uiidencood Bank Re- 
porter, which was consoiidateil w itli the Aiiicrieaii Bank- 
Reporter : and also Undei~i>.'ood's Counterfeit Reporter, 
whicii is still jjublished as a separate journal. Later, 
T/te Einaneial Examiner, a weekly financial paper, was 
aijsorijeil, anti also Ilainlieri^er's J-ei^al Direetory, puij- 
lisiied in Wiiladelphia, whicli was consolidated with tiie 
American Bank Reporter, in 1892 tlie ex])anding enter- 
prise of tlic firm materi.ilizeil in a new venture, 'J'/ie 
Ameriean La'n-yer, a montlii}-, which occupies a field 
wiiicli hail hitiierto been neglected. 

To conclude, lie takes an active interest in municipal 
matters, is a member of tiie Metiiodist Ciiurcii, and takes 
a particularly active interest in Sunday-sciiooi work. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



iSi 



D. O. MILLS. 

D. O. Mills, a leading Californian and New York 
financier, was born in Westchester County, New York, 
September 5, 1825, being tlie fifth son of James Mills, 
who in 1835 served as supervisor of the town of North 
Salem. The family descendetl fi-om Scotch-luiglish an- 
cestry, Mr. Mills's forefathers settling in New York and 
Connecticut before the Revolutionary period. His father 
occupied for many }'ears a prominent position in the 
community in which he resided, but in late life became 
impoverished, and died in 1841, leaving his family with 
very small means. The subject of our sketch had, how- 
ever, received an excellent education in the North Salem 
Academy and afterwards in tiie Mount Pleasant Academy 
at Sing Sing, then one of the leading educational institu- 
tions of the State. His father had, in adtlition, carefully 
trained him in the essentials of a business career. 

Mr. Mills ended his school life at the age of seventeen 
and prepared to make his own way in the world, securing 
a clerkship in New York, in which he remained during 
the few succeeding years. He was also engaged during 
part of this period in duties connected with the settle- 
ment of the small estate left b)- his father. In 1847 
when twenty-two years of age, he went to Buffalo, where 
he entered into partnership with his cousin, E. J. Town- 
send, and was appointed cashier of the Merchants' Bank, 
of Erie Count}', a bank of deposit issue established under 
a special charter and doing a large business for those 
days. 

Mr. Mills, however, had more ambitious views, and 
in December, 1848, determined to go to California, a 
country then the seat of an extraordinary excitement 
from the recent discovery of gold. He reached San 
Erancisco in June, 1849, after a long vo\-age full of ex- 
citing incident. It was, however, not his purpose to en- 
gage in gold-mining, like most of the adventurers who 
sought that land of promise. He saw, on the contrary, 
better hopes in other directions, and engaged success- 
hilly in trade with the \arious mining districts. After 
a period of experience in this line, he settled in Sacra- 
mento, and engaged in general mercantile business, 
w hile also purchasing gold-dust and dealing in exchange 
on New York. By November of that year, after less 
than si.x months' work, he already found himself the 
possessor of about $40,000. He now closed out his 
business and returned to Buffalo, where he disposed of 
all his interests in the East, having resolved to make 
California his future home. Seeking Sacramento again, 
he founded there the banking house of D. O. Mills & 
Co., which quickly became the leading bank of interior 
California, a position which it maintains to this day. 




Mr. Mills i|uiclsl)' established a reputation for integrity, 
business judgment, boldness, and rapid decision, his word 
being deemed as good as most men's bond, while his 
business was maintained solely on a legitimate basis, all 
questionable schemes being sedulously avoided. As a 
consequence, business came abundantly to the house, 
and he had gained ere long the position of the most 
successful and leading banker of California. 

In 1864 he was electetl president of the Bank of Cali- 
fornia, a new institution which began business that year 
with a capital of ^2,000,000. He remained connected 
with it till 1873, when he resigned the presidency and 
retired from business, having accumulated a large fortune. 
His retirement proved almost fatal to the bank. Under 
the reckless management of his successor, William C. 
Ralston, it was in two years brought to the verge of 
ruin, and Mr. Mills was summoned to save it. He 
obeyed the summons, resinned the presidenc\% sub- 
scribed personally to the bank capital Si ,000,000, raised 
in all nearly $7,000,000, and within si.x weeks enabled it 
to resume payment. In three years he again left it, 
after having firml)- re-established its financial standing. 

Subsetjuently Mr. Mills came East, where he became 
a resident of New York City, and erected there the great 
" Mills Building" in Broad Street. His interests are 
now divided between New York and California and yield 
him an income of more than $1,000,000 a year. On 
leaving California he endowed with $75,000 the Mills 
professorship of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy in 
the University of California, and donated to the State 
the handsome group of marble statuary " Columbus be- 
fore Queen Isabella." He became also a trustee of the 
Lick Estate and the Lick Astronomical Observatory. 



24 



I82 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




LKWIS ROBHRTS. 

Lewis Roberts is of Welsh descent, his great-grand- 
father, who was a relati\-e of De Witt Clinton, liaving 
come to tliis country and settled in Orange Count)-, New 
York, in 1729. His son became a merchant and manu- 
facturer at Salisbury Mills, in that count}-, anil his grand- 
son, George T. Roberts, father of the subject of our 
sketch, was born there in 1 790. This gentleman was for 
many years connected with the public schools of ( )ntario 
County, and for a time had there a school of his own. 
He married Miss Anna Fisk, of Springfield, Massachu- 
setts, who was of carl\- Puritan anccstr\'. They had 
eight children, Lewis being the fifth, lie was horn June 
6, 1826, on a farm in \'<>rk, Livingston County. New 
^'ork, to which his father had retired after rclimiuishing 
his professional pursuits. The famil)' subsequently re- 
moved to Parma, Monroe County, and here young Lewis 
s])ent his life from his si.\th \'ear till old enough to engage 
in business. His i^reliminary education was obtained in 
a small private school, after which he took a collegiate 
cour.se in the Hrockport Collegiate Institute, leasing this 
institution at the age of eighteen. 

His business life began in tin- \\hi)lesale dry-goods 
house of W. H. Greenaugh, in Rochester, New \'oik. 
After spending two years here he joined his brother, 
Charles Roberts, in opening a general store at Parma 
Centre, but quickly disposed of his interest in this store, 
and in 1849 became a partner in a large flour-mill at 
Rochester. He was still only twenty years of age, and 
had manifested unusual business enterprise for one so 
young. In the spring of 185 i he made another business 



venture, withdrawing from the flouring firm and remov- 
ing to New York Cit)', where he founded the produce 
commission house of L. Roberts & Co. As for the 
career of this house little need be said. For a quarter 
of a century its business was very successful, its trade 
connections reaching to sixteen States of the L'liion, 
from all nf wliich it received consignments of flour and 
grain. 

Mr. Riibcrts eventually withdrew from the [)i()iluce 
business and engaged in the construction of railroad and 
telegraph lines, a number of each of which were the re- 
sults of his efforts. He served at one time as vice-presi- 
dent (if the United States Telegraph Compan\-, and took 
part with his brother and others in the construction of 
its line from Chicago to San I-'rancisco. At that time no 
railroad had Iicen built west of the Mississippi, and tin- 
work of construction was a veiy difficult one. Ihe 
credit of its completion is largely due to Mr. Roberts. 
During his years of telegraph construction, he is said to 
haw had to do with the erection of twenty thousand 
miles of poles, almost sufficient to carr}' a line of wire 
around the earth. 

Politically Mr. Roberts is a Republican, and was an 
ardent sup[)ortir of the go\einmcnt during the civil war. 
The large .Southern trade which he possessed he sacri- 
ficed rather than yielil the principles which he had 
espoused. He was formerly connected with numerous 
social and business organizations, among them the Union 
League Club and the Home Life Insurance Compan\-, 
and is a trustee of the University of Rochester and a 
member of the New York Chamber of Commerce, the 
I'^xchange Club, and tin- Down-town Club. He took a 
very proniiiunl p.irt in the organization and ])ioinotion 
f)f the Mercantile Library .Association of ]5rooklyn, now- 
known as the Brooklj-n Librar\-. He served this associa- 
tion as its first presiilent, and it was largel}- due to his 
energetic labors in its behalf antl his enlisting the promi- 
nent men of Urooklj-n in its support, that it attaineil its 
high degree of success. 

In 1883, Mr. Roberts became a member of the New- 
York Stock IvNchange and engaged in the banking busi- 
ness at No. 18 Wall Street. He also became much 
interested in the dex'elopment of natural gas for fuel in 
Western New York and Pennsylvania. He married, in 
1849, Miss Harriet G. lUirbank, of Rochester, and since 
1861 has rcsidiil ,it TaiiNtown. He owns about six 
hundred acres of land at Tarrj-town Heights, within 
which he has a hantlsome residence, offering a view- of 
twenty miles of river scenery and of the lower range of 
the Catskill Mountains. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



183 



JOSHPH H. CHOATE. 

Joseph Hodges Choate, of the New York bai', was 
bom at Salem, Massachusetts, on the 24tli of January, 
1832. He is a descendant of one of the oldest and most 
respected of New England families, many of his relatives 
and ancestors liaving gained tlistinction in various fields 
of effort, and particularly at the bar. Mr. Choate entered 
Har\-ard when sixteen years of age, and graduated in 
1852. Thence he passed to the Dane Law School, 
having decided to enter the profession so honorable in 
the family records, and graduated in 1854, after two 
years of close application. He was admitted to practice 
at the Massachusetts bar in 1855. 

In 1856 Mr. Choate came to New York, to whose bar 
he obtained admission. From that date to this he has 
been engaged in the practice of the law in New York 
City w'ith brilliant success and with a reputation as a 
lawyer equal to that of the finest advocates in this 
countr}-. Among the cases in which he has been en- 
gaged are many famous ones, in most of which he has 
borne a leading part, and gained applause for his forensic 
ability and deep antl tiiorough knowledge of the law. 
To describe all the c.ises in which he has thus been 
prominent would be far be)-ond the space at our dis- 
posal, and be almost equivalent to writing a legal 
history of New York for more than a quarter of a 
centur}' past. 

Mr. Choate's distinction as one of the leaders of the 
bar of New York is not his only legal claim to consider- 
ation. He is as popular as he is able, and may be con- 
sidered as decided!}- the leading lawyer of the city in 
this regard. His popularity is not confined to his clien- 
tage and to the people at large, but extends to the pro- 
fession as well, it being doubtful if any other lawj'er in 
the city has as many professional friends and well- 
wishers as Joseph H. Choate. This popularity is due, 
in large measure, to his personal gifts of courtesy and 
geniality, which are so marked as to win him friends 
wherever he goes. 

Among the most celebrated cases in which lie has 
been engaged ma}- be named that of General T'itz-John 
Porter, whom he served as counsel in his protracted suit 
for reinstatement in his military rank, and the rights of 
which he had been deprived by sentence of a court- 
martial. The origin of this celebrated case must be 
familiar to all students of the civil war. General Porter 
was charged by General Pope with disobedience of orders 
during the second battle of Bull Run, in failure to bring 
his troops into the engagement, although his corps was 
" within sight and sound of the battle," thus imperiling 
the army and being the principal cause of the ilefeat of 
the Union forces. The court-martial con\'ened at General 
Pope's instance sustained these charges, and General 
Porter was cashiered and dismissed from the service in 




January, 1863. He continued under the ban of this 
decision for many years. In 1870 he appealed without 
effect to President Grant for a reversal of the decision 
of the court-martial. The struggle to obtain this reversal 
continued for years, and brought into play all Mr. 
Choate's legal powers. It was finally successful, its suc- 
cess being largely due to the abilit}- of the plaintiff's 
counsel, and in 1886 General Porter was finall}- restored 
to the army with all disabilities removed. 

Another almost ccjually celebrated case in which Mr. 
Choate acted as premier counsel was the notable Cesnola 
case, in which also he was successful. These are but 
the most famous of the man}- important legal struggles 
in which he has been engaged. 

Politically Mr. Choate is a member of the Republican 
party, and a very active one, taking a prominent part 
alike in national. State, and munici[xd politics, and ex- 
erting his powers particular!}- in the work of reform. 
He was one of the original Committee of Seventy, that 
earnest bod\- of reformers which came into being during 
the political dominance of Tweed and his infamous ring, 
and which crushed the disdainful " ]5oss" and for the 
time being purified the political atmosphere of New 
York City. In bringing about this highly desirable 
result Mr. Choate and his friend and associate Charles 
O'Conor were \ery large!}' instrumental. Mr. Choate 
took the leading part in the formation of the recently 
formed Constitution of New York. 

In social circles Mr. Choate is highly esteemed. He 
is read}- as an after dinner speaker, rivaling Chauncey 
Depew in this social art, in which he is noted for his 
pungent wit, and if necessary can be caustic and sarcastic. 
He is a member of the Union t^eague and the New 
England Societ}-, in both of which organizations he has 
served as president. 



1 84 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM STHINWAY. 

William Stkinwav, famous among tlic piaii()-l)iiililcis 
of this country, was of German birtli, being born at 
Scesen, a village in the Hartz Mountain region, on 
March 5, 1836. He received an elementary education 
in the schools of his natix'c town, and was subsequently 
sent to the Jacobsohn Institute, where, by the age of 
fourteen, he was able to s])eak fluently French and Eng- 
lish, as well as German. To his linguistic talent he 
added an unusual Io\e of music, and while still a boy 
became a pianist of the highest power of execution. 

In 1850 his father, Ilenr)- Engelhard Steinwa\-, emi- 
grated with his famil)' to the LTnited States, settling in 
New York, where William was sent to learn piano- 
making in the manufactory of Nunno & Co. Here he 
worked with energy and intelligence, rapidly acciuiring 
a knowledge of tlie business, until 1853, in which jear 
his father decided to start a manufactory of his own in 
that branch of business. He began in a modest way in 
a back building on Varick Street, work being begun on 
William's seventeenth Ijirlhda)-. The elder Steinway 
associated with liim.self in this new business his three 
sons, Charles, Henry, and William, the firm-name adopted 
being Steinway & Sons. The princi|xd cajiital of the 
firm consisted in skill, industry, and hopeful endeavor, 
but success came to them from the start, and in less 
than a year larger premises were found necessar)'. 
These were obtained in the very shop in which W'illiam 
had learned his tratle, the firm of Nunno & Co. having 
meanwhile become bankrupt. At the time of his failure, 
Mr. Nunno owed his former apjirentice S300 in wages. 
Mr. Steinway not only never asked for this, but saw- 
that his former empIo)'er should never come to want, 
generously supporting him till his death, in 1S64. 

It need hardly be said liere that the success of the 



Steinways in their new business was phenomenal. This 
is sufficiently well known to all citizens of New York. 
But it is important to add that this success was largely 
due to the executive abilit\- and clear bu.siness foresight 
of William Steinway, who was from the first the moving 
spirit of the concern. The control of the finances was 
placed in his hands, his skill and managing abilitj- 
reached to every department of the business, and before 
many years, under his intelligent oversight, the Steinwav 
piano gained a celebrity that was world-wide. 

This success may justl\- be attributed to \\'illiam, 
whose executive powers were acknowledged and cheer- 
fully yielded to by his father and brothers, the four 
working together for the advancement of the business 
with unbroken harmony. The Steinway piano-works 
in Astoria now occupy twelve acres and employ six hun- 
dred and fifty hands. The works in New York have as 
many workmen, and occupy a whole block, extending 
from Park to Lexington A\enues, and from Fifty-second 
to I'"irt_\--third -Streets. They turn out sixty pianos weekly. 
.Stcinwa\- Hall, on I'ourtccnth Street, contains the ware- 
rooms and offices, and the once famous .Steinway Con- 
cert Hall, which in now used for business purposes. 
There is a branch establishment in London, and one 
in Ihuiiburg, German)-. 

Mr. .Steinway takes an acti\e interest in music and 
in public affairs. He is president of the Liederkranz 
Societ)'. and to his skill on the piano adtls that of fine 
singing powers and a delightful \'oice. He is not a 
politician, but is an earnest reformer in municipal affairs, 
and was one of the Committee of Seventy before whose 
trenchant attack the infamous rule of Hoss Tweed went 
down in ruin and dismay. His love of reform led him 
in 1886 to bike an active part in the election of Abram 
Hewitt to the mayoralty, he acting as chairman to the 
great Cooper Union meeting at which the nomination 
was made, and afterwards working earnestly in the 
campaign. 

In 18S8 he was elected on the National Democratic 
Connnittee as rejiresentatix-e of the State of New York, 
but business demands soon compelled him to resign. 
To-day few citizens wield more political influence than 
he. He has refused the nomination for sub-treasurer, 
and in 1889 dcclinetl that for secretary of state of New 
York, and has more than once declined the nomination 
for mayor of New York City. He has, however, acted 
with great approval in sev'eral public capacities, and his 
charities have been of the most useful and liberal kind. 
At Astoria he has established a model village for his 
workmen, with an excellent school and kindergarten, 
public swimming-baths, park, circulating librar\-, etc. 
In 1892 he had the honor confcrreil on him of an auili- 
cnce with the Ivmperor anil l-jnpress of German)- at the 
Marble Palace, Potsdam. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



i8s 



SPHNCER TRASK. 

Si'ENCER Tka.sk, one of the bcst-kimwii names in the 
financial history of New York City, is a native of 
Brookhn, in which city he was born in 1844. He re- 
ceived his early education in the Polytechnic Institute of 
tiiat city, whence he passed to Princeton College, from 
which institutiiin he graduated in 1866. Seeking a busi- 
ness outlet for his energies, he chose that field of finances 
in which the city of New York has long been so promi- 
nent, as the financial centre of the countr}- and the chief 
connecting link between the American and European 
money markets. Such houses as that established and 
conducted for a quarter-century by Spencer Trask have 
had much to do with lifting the metropolis to its position 
of command in the financial interests of this country. 

This house was established in 1869, and in April of 
the following year he became a member of the Stock 
Exchange, the firm-name being now Trask & Stone. 
SubsequentI}' other changes took place, the firm-name 
later becoming Trask & Francis, and in 1 88 1 Spencer 
Trask & Co., under which title the house is still known. 
New partners have been from time to time atlmitted, 
until now Mr. Trask has associated with him in business 
George Foster Peabodv, William Blodget, Edwin M. 
Bulkley, Charles J. Peabodv, and E. P. Merritt (a Boston 
member of the firm). Mr. Charles J. Pcabody shares 
with Mr. Trask the privilege of membership in the Stock 
Exchange, so that the house has the advantage of pos- 
sessing a double membership in that powerful financial 
institution. 

We need scarcely say that the house of Spencer Trask 
& Co. has had a prosperous career, and now occupies an 
influential position among the financial business concerns 
of New York. It has beautiful banking-rooms at Nos. 
27 and 29 Pine Street, in New York, and at No. 20 Con- 
gress Street, Boston, and possesses branch offices in the 
cities of Albany and Providence. Private connections by 
wire bring these offices into immediate connection, and 
also extend to correspondents in Philadelphia and Chi- 
cago, giving the house the most fa\'orable facilities for 
the inmiediate and profitable comluct of its business. It 
iiardlx* need be said that time is mone\- more especially 
in the relations of finance than in an\- other business that 
could be named. The special line pursued by tiie house 
is the negotiation of railroiid, municipal, and other de- 
sirable issues of bonds, in addition to which it does a 
large business in domestic banking and general broker- 
age. 

Mr. Trask has not confiiietl his energies to the conduct 
of his banking business. He is president of the Edison 
Electric Illuminating Company of New York, a large 
and growing business enterprise, and is connected as a 




director with several important railroad corporations. 
Aside from business, he is chairman of the board of 
trustees of the New York Teachers' College, an institu- 
tion in whose progress and prosperity he takes great 
interest. 

In tastes and habit Mr. Trask is domestic. His country 
home is situated at Yeddo, New York, about a mile from 
Saratoga village, and on the avenue leading to Saratoga 
Lake. In this handsome establishment he takes great 
pride, and enjoys every hour which he is enabled to 
spend there. The estate embraces about fi\e lunulretl 
acres, while the grounds are given a special charm by a 
chain of small lakes. In and out among these and 
through the surrounding woods wind beautiful drives, 
which, with praiseworthy generosity, Mr. Trask has 
thrown open to the public, and whicli are made much 
use of by the residents of Saratoga and \isitors to this 
delightful fashionable resort. 

The old house on the place, which had been exten- 
sively remodeled by its new proprietor, took fire and 
was destroyed in 1S91. Since then a new, more modern, 
and far handsomer edifice has been built, and is to-day 
one of the most attractive country residences in the 
State. Mr. Trask does not confine himself to personal 
enjo\-nient in this rural home. His benevolent instincts 
have led him to devote a portion of his wealth to a praise- 
worthy philanthropic object. This is a Convalescent 
Home for children, which he presented some years ago 
to the diocese of Alban\', buying and fitting up a place 
at Saratoga for this purpose. The children are brought 
here from hospitals and elsewhere, about one hundred 
poor young invalids being given this excellent opportunity 
for recuperation each summer. 



1 86 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




COLGATE HOYT. 

Colgate Hoyt, so well known in railroad and steam 
ship enterprises, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, Mareh 2, 
1849, the son of Hon. James M. Hoyt, an active lawyer 
of that community. He began his education in the 
schools of Cleveland, and when fifteen entered Phillips 
Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, to prepare for col- 
lege. This purpose, however, he was obliged to forego, 
on account of a serious trouble in one of his eyes. He 
thereupon, after a year's stud\-, returned home and began 
a business career. 

He entered a hardware store at sixteen, anti worked 
there with an energy and faithfulness which secured him 
rapid promotion. After a period of experience in this 
line, he entered his father's office, and soon after became 
his partner in real-estate tran.sactions. lie also became 
largely engaged in loaning monej' on Western real-estate 
securities, a business then ra[)itlly de\elo[)ing. 

He was thus engaged until 1881, in which year, at the 
solicitation of James R. Colgate and John H. Tre\-or, he 
removed the field of his activities to New York, where 
he entered the firm of J. B. Colgate & Co. This busi- 
ness soon felt the effect of his activity and bf)ldness, he, 
with the support of his associates, entering into transac- 
tions of great magnitude and responsibility. In 1S82 
President Arthur appointed him one of the govern- 
ment directors of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, 
an influential position which he retained till the end of 
the administration, sen'ing during ])arl of the lime as 
chairman of the board. In 1884 he became a trustee 
of the Wisconsin Central Railroad, in association with 
its president and vice-president, Charles L. Colly and 
Kdwin H. Abbott, and joined his energy to theirs in the 
development of this road, which in their hands was ad- 
vanced to a commanding position. They sub.scqucntly 



developeil the great terminal railroad known as the 
Chicago and Northern Pacific, whose passenger station 
in Chicago is one of the finest in the country, while its 
facilities are used by several other railroads. 

In 1884 Mr. Hoyt resigned his po.sition as government 
director of the Union Pacific road, but soon after accepted 
the position of company director, which he held for 
several years. He resigned e\entually, through disap- 
proval of the policy of the board. Meanwhile he had 
become a director of the Oregon and Transcontinental 
Compan}- and of the Oregon Railroad and Na\igation 
Company, and a member of the executive committee of 
each. He was also, soon afterwards, elected a director of 
the Northern Pacific Railroad Compan\-, a member of its 
executive and finance committees, and vice-president of 
some of its lines. The business of this road was grow- 
ing and additional equipment was needed. This he under- 
took to jirovide. He raised $3,000,000 for the purpose, 
and organized the Northwest Equipment Compan)', of 
which he is president and treasurer. In 1889 he became 
\ice-president of the Oregon and Transcontinental Com- 
pany. This company falling into difficulties through ad- 
verse legislation, Mr. Ho)-t undertook the hea\y task of 
its reorganization, and accomplished it with remarkable 
rapidity, its assets and property being transferred to the 
North American Compan\', an association with a more 
liberal charter. 

This result was accomplished with no little difficulty, 
and Mr. Hoyt, worn out with his labor, resigned his 
position as vice-president, much against the desire of the 
boaril. just then, Mr. Trevor, one of the partners of J. 
B. Colgate & Co., suildenly died, and it became neces.sary 
to wind up the large business of this firm. After the 
dissolution of the partnershi]i, Mr. Hoyt retired from 
the stock brokerage business. 

To Mr. Hoyt was due the encouragement of the inven- 
tor of the " whale-back" .steamer, which he took hold of 
in 1888, after the inventor had for years sought finan- 
cial support, organized the American Steel Barge Com- 
pany with a large capital, and brought the inventor's 
ideas into practical and successful operation. He is also 
treasurer and trustee of the Spanish-American Iron Com- 
pany, which has a capital of S5,ooo,ooo, and owns valu- 
able iron mines in Cuba. In 1889, he, with Mr. Olcott, 
president of the Central Trust Company, of New York, 
undertook the reorganization of the Missouri, Kansas, 
and Texas Railroad, and succeeded in the face of great 
difficulties. He was urgently pressed to accept the presi- 
denc)' of the company, but declined. 

In 1873 Mr. Hoyt married Lida W. Slicnnan, a niece 
of General W. T. Sherman He is a member of the 
Baptist Church, and is active in the cause of education, 
being a trustee of the University of Rochester, of Brown 
University, and of Vassar College. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



187 



GEORGE BATTEN. 

George Batten, advertising agent, may be classed 
among those who liave made their way up from the 
uneventful hfc of the farm to prominence in the active 
modern birsiness world. He was born on a farm in 
Gloucester Count)-, New Jersc}-, nearl)' forty-one years 
ago, and spent his early life ver)- much as farmers' bo\-s 
in general do, working in the fields during the busy sea- 
sons of spring, summer, and autumn, and gaining such 
education as was attainable under the circumstances by 
going to school in the winter. It need scarcely be said 
that, under such circumstances, farmers' sons usualh' 
fail to obtain more than a very elementary education. 
Mr. Batten, liowever, had the advantage over the farm 
boy in general of being able to attend an excellent pri- 
vate school, kept by the Misses Butler at Swedesboro', 
New Jersey, and thus of obtaining a fairly .satisfactory 
education. 

His life in the laborious duties of a farm in a truck- 
raising district of New Jersey continued until he was 
past twent}-, when, moved by an ambition to engage in 
the more varied ant! promising life of the city, he made 
his way to Philadelphia, and there secured a position 
in the wholesale dry-goods establishment of Folwell, 
Brother & Co., No. 819 Market Street. His work 
here for the first year or two was of a very subordinate 
character, being confined to such necessary but minor 
duties as checking goods, scouring signs, sweeping out 
the store, keeping the goods in order, and doing such 
other general labor as tlic exigencies of the business 
demanded. He bided his time, howe\'er, preparing him- 
self by diligence and study of the situation for higher 
duties, and gradually worked his way into the position 
of a traveling salesman, in which he was unusually suc- 
cessful, — largely owing to the fact that he could liold 
his trade; his customers found they could trust him, — 
until 1882. In this year his health broke down and he 
was obliged to retire from acti\e business, the major 
part of his time duiing the succeeding three years being 



devoted to recuperation and the restoration of a physi- 
cal state that would enable him to engage again in 
business. 

He had, meanwhile, made the acquaintance of Mr. 
Ayer, the widely-known advertising agent, and seeing a 
promise of success in this field of labor, became engaged 
in August, 1885, with the Religious Press Association. 
In this he made rapid progress, being made a director 
in the association in November of that \-ear, antl placed 
in the responsible position of general manager in the 
following January. He remained thus engaged during 
two years, gaining a thorough knowledge of the busi- 
ness, and developing that jiative faculty for it which he 
has since so strongly displayed. In March, 188S, he 
removed his field of operations to New York, where he 
became advertising manager for the Funk & Wagnall's 
publications (at that time consisting of the Voice, a news- 
paper in the cause of temperance, the Hotnilctic Rcviciv, 
and the Missionary RcviciK.'). He also secured the New 
York agenc}- of the Washington Post, which he still 
retains. 

Mr. Batten continued thus engaged until March, 1891, 
when he resigned his position with the Funk & Wagnall's 
house, rented a small office in the Potter Building, and 
started business for himself as a general advertising 
agent. His first step in this independent field of busi- 
ness was a \ery modest one. He had a single room 
and one clerk. Business, liowever, began to flow in, 
and more room and aid became quick!)' requisite. In 
January, 1893, he was compelled to add another room 
and considerably augment his office force, and in 1893 
still more room and aid became requisite. In 1894 he 
took a suite of offices on the eighth floor of the build- 
ing, increased his force until a dozen or more persons 
were engaged, with abundance of business to keep all of 
them diligently employed, and we may close by saying 
that in Mr. Batten's career industry, energy, and ability 
have brought their natural results, and that he is fairly 
launched upon what promises to be a ver)' successfid 
career. 



1 88 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ANTHONY STUMPF. 

Anthony Stumi'F was born November i6, 1856, at 
Zcll, Havaria, German)', and exhibited carl)- tliat adapta- 
bility to a chani^e of environment which characterizes so 
many of our successful citizens of foreii^n birth. He was 
one of a family of twelve children who emigrated with 
their parents to this country in 1 866, and settled in New 
York City. For a time Mr. Stumjif attended St. Nicholas 
Institute, and when twelve years old was apprenticed to 
a shoemaker, whose little shop was a rendezvous for a 
number of well-known law)'ers, judges, and business men, 
attracted by the thoroughness of the service which the 
proprietor was known to render. During the two years 
of tills admirable tutelage the boy developed some of 
tiiose qualities of assimilative intelligence and moral grit 
which distinguish his career. 

The trade thus learned was quickly abandoned; the 
printer's trade offered attractions for him which he could 
not resist. The accumulation of a store of types, gath- 
ered from the sweepings of a neigliboring printing-office, 
was the germ of this new influence and the turning-jjoint 
of Mr. .Stumpfs career. In 1872 and 1873 he had ahead)' 
attained such skill in t\'pe-setting as to fit him for the 
jiosition of com|)ositor on a morning news])ai)er, and 
made his way to St. Louis, where he obtained employ- 
ment on the St. Louis Post-Dispafc/i. Returning to 
New York, with broadened experience and undiminislied 
ambition, he became associated with tiie printing liouse 
of Wynkoop & Halienbeck, in which opportunities were 
open to him for the exercise of his growing powers. 
Invariable fidelity to the interests of his employers was 
one of the qualities which soon distinguished him from 
those about him. A growing confidence in the young 
man's singleness of i)urpose and solid attainments opened 
the way for ra|)id advancement in an enterprise organized 



by a customer of the establishment menlionetl. While 
there lie rose to the [xtsition of manager, and assisted 
in the compilation of the Leviathan Cable Code, for 
cipher telegraphing, a work which necessitates patience 
and thoroughness. 

Mr. Stumpf had now become master of the printing 
business in all its branches. Not only was he expert in 
the various details of his craft, but he combined with this 
a high order of executive skill in the management of 
men and the promotion of business measures. In 1S85 
he, in association with Charles David Steurer, purchased 
the old TJiouipson's Bank-Note and Coiiiiinirial Reporter, 
which was fountled in 1836, anil had long enjo)'ed a high 
reputation in banking circles. Under its recent manage- 
ment this publication had lost considerably in public esti- 
mation, but its new proprietors perceived that b)' proper 
handling its popularity could be restored. The young 
men felt secure in the thought that well-directed energy 
and unswerving business integrit)' would prevail in re- 
establishing its former prosperity. 

Mr. Stumpf entered upon the larger opportimities 
which this undertaking gave him with his customary 
vigor. The old name was abandoned with the old 
methods. The weekly issue was entitled 'J'/ie American 
Banker, of which Mr. Stumpf, in addition to his duties 
of supervising the printing department, took editorial 
charge. The directory of banks also issued by this es- 
tablishment was called T/ie American Bank Reporter, a 
work of coni[)ilation u|)on which the experience which 
Mr. .Stumpf had acepiired in his earlier labors was efti- 
cientl)' applied. 

To the difficult work of realizing the fullest aims of the 
new management the partners addressed themselves with 
untiring devotion. And as the change in the character 
of the publications became manifest to the public the 
prevailing hostilit)' diminished, while the aims of the new 
proprietors broadened. In 1887 L'ndcra'ood's Bank Re- 
porter, jjublished b)' Geo. !•". June & Co., was absorbed by 
them. In \i^C) Baml)crgers Legal Directory \\3.s consoli- 
dated with the American luvik Reporter, and the Financial 
F.xamincr was purchased and absorbed b)' the American 
Banker. The progress and success of the fuin was now- 
assured. In 1892 a legal journal, Tlie American f.auyer, 
founded on the principles which had brought success in 
the conduct nf the older journals, was established, ami 
has already reached a commanding place in tin- world of 
legal journalism. 

To Mr. Stumjjf's character as an undaunted business 
man, fertile in resources, undeviating in his adherence to 
correct business principles, and w ith the ability to win 
friends wherever such (|ualities are appreciated, is due in 
a large measure the success of the publishing house, now 
known throughout the Uniletl States under the firm-name 
of Stumpf iv .Steurer. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



189 



BENJAMIN H. FIELD. 

Benjamin Hazard Field, born at Yorktown, New 
York, May 2, 18 14, is descended from a family of much 
consideration in that region of the en\irons of New 
York City. The fuiiii}' from wliich lie comes can, in- 
deed, be traced far back into the mediicval period, Hii- 
bartus do la Feld, its remote ancestor, being said to have 
accompanied Wihiam the Conqueror in his invasion of 
Kngland. His lands were situated in the county of 
Lancaster, where the family long continued, the prefix 
dc la being discontinued, and the name became F"eild. 
In 1630, when Sir Richai'd Saltonstall sought a home in 
the New World, he was accompanied by his intimate 
friend Robert Feild, who settled at Watertown, Massa- 
chusetts, ami in 1645 purchased an estate on Long 
Island, his residence being at l^ayside. The name was 
eventually modified to Eleld, the subject of our sketch 
being the grandson of John Field, and son of Hazard 
Field, who was born at Yorktown in 1764. 

Benjamin Hazard Field was born at the family seat 
at Yorktown, and educated at first in his father's house, 
and afterwards at North Salem Academy. He had de- 
cided upon a mercantile career, to which his inclina- 
tions strongly turned, and entered the office of his uncle, 
Hickson W. Field, at that time one of the leading busi- 
ness men of New York, and noted not only for his 
business enterprise and success but for his active philan- 
thropy as well, no man of his time being a better friend 
of the poor and suffering. In 1832 his nephew, then 
but eighteen years of age, was admitted to partnership 
in his extensive business, and in 1838, on the retirement 
of the uncle, Mr. Field, still but twenty-four years of 
age, had placed in his single hands the control of the 
whole great business of the house. 

From that time forward he became identified with the 
progress of the metropolis, being justl)' regarded as one 
of its foremost citizens. His business career was begun 
untler the most favorable circumstances, and a well- 
established, large, and prosperous trade placed in his 
hands while still in his early years, and as a result for- 
tune and business reputation quickly came to him. To 
his credit be it said that he followed the worthy example 
of his uncle not only in business integrity and enterprise, 
but also in benevolence, viewing the possession of for- 
tune as a duty rather than a right, and one to be em- 
ployed for the benefit of humanity. The result has been 
that no citizen of New York has taken a more active 
part in works of benevolence, there being scarcely a 
charitable institution in the city with which his name is 
not connected officially, and to whose support he has 
not Hberally contributed. Among these may be men- 




tioned the New York Dispensar)^ tiie Sheltering Arms 
of the Children's Fold, and the Roosevelt Hospital, of 
each of which he is trustee, while he is a director of the 
New York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf 
and Dumb, and president of the New York Eye and 
Ear Infirmary. Among charitable institutions, however, 
he is most closely connected with the Home for Incura- 
bles, at Fordham, which he liberally aided in establishing, 
and whose president he has been since 1866. He has 
expended in the cause of education nearly one hundred 
thousand dollars, and has performed various other deeds 
of a benevolent character. 

He has long been identified with many of the social 
institutions of the city. In 1870 he was elected president 
of the St. Nicholas Society, and in 1875 took part in the 
organization of the St. Nicholas Club, in which he is a 
trustee. His membership in the Century Club testifies 
to his love of and his contributions to literature. In ad- 
dition he is connected with the New York Historical 
Society, the American Geographical Society, the Ameri- 
can Museum of Natm-al History, and a number of the 
financial institutions of the city. 

In 1838, Mr. Field married Catherine M. Van Cort- 
landt de Peyster, a lady who was connected by descent 
witii many of the ancient and most honorable families of 
the State. He has two children, a son and a daughter, 
the son, Cortlandt de Peyster, having succeeded him in 
business on his retirement in 1865. Like his father he 
has developed a benevolent disposition, and has become 
a liberal giver. The old homestead at Yorktown is still 
a family possession, a portion of it having been trans- 
ferred to the Field P'arm Company, which is being con- 
ducted for certain benevolent purpo?es of its owners. 



25 



igo 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAMES LHNOX. 

James Lenox, nicichant and pliilaiitliropist, was boin 
in New York, August 19, 1800, the only son of Robert 
Lenox, a Scotch merchant who had acquired great wealth 
in that city, and who, on his death in 1839, left his son 
a fortune of several million dollars, and tliirtj' acres of 
land between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, in the vicinity 
of Central Park. The son was educated in Columbia 
College, from which he graduated in 1820. He was 
then put to the studj- of law, and was admitted to the 
bar, but did not enter into jiracticc. On the c<>ntrar\-, 
he entered his father's counting-hoiist-, and gained tiiere 
a training in business. 

After the death of his father he reliretl from business, 
and devoted the remainder of his life to special studies 
and works of bene\'olence and philanthropy. The abun- 
dance of his wealth enabled iiim to carry out his desires 
without thought of expense, and on a visit to luiropc 
which followed his retirement he occupied himself in 
the collection of rare books, manuscripts, paintings, 
statuary, and other works of art and literature. He* 
])ossessed a scholarly love of literature and rare taste in 
art, and entered upon the collection of these costly mate- 
rials with a zest which grew into an absorbing passion, 
and in which he expended money with a lavish hand, 
though never with unthinking extravagance. In the 
course of time his collection became the most costly 
and extensive collection of books anil paintings in 
America. 



In the \-ear 1870 he entered upon the greatest and 
most useful work of his life, the erection on his property 
on I'ifth .Avenue, between Seventieth and Seventy-first 
Streets, of a large fire-proof building for the housing of 
his treasures. This edifice, fronting on Central Park, 
cost nearly half a million dollars, and stands on lam! 
worth still more. It i> three stories high in its centre, 
and two stories abi)\e the basement on its wings, with a 
frontage of two hunilred feet and a depth of one hundred 
ant! fciurteeii feet. Within tlicic are foui' large reading- 
rooms and spacious galleries for paintings and sculpture. 

Of Mr. Lenox's collection of rare books, that of Bibles 
is particularly \'aluable, being unequaled in number and 
rarity even by the collection of the British Museum. 
Among these treasures is a genuine copy of the cele- 
brated Mazarin Bible, found in Mazarin's library after 
his death, and being the first book (printed by Gutenberg) 
in which cut metal types were used. Lenox paid S3000 
for this anticjuarian gem. 

On the completion of this edifice in 1877, its libLr.il 
Ijuilder conve\'ecl the whole structure, with its in\aluable 
contents, to the cit)' of New York, to be applied for the 
benefit of students and the public for all future time, 
lie had previously turned over his collection of books 
to a corporation to serve as the nucleus of a free library. 
After his death his sister still further increased the bene- 
faction, b)' adding to her brother's gift twenty-two ad- 
joining building lots and SIOO.OOO for the purchase of 
books. 

Mr. Leno.x was president of the American Bible Society 
from 1866 to 1872, and was a liberal donor to Princeton 
College and Seminary and to man)- other Presbyterian 
institutions. Tn him the city of New York owes, in 
addition to the Leno.x Library, the Presbyterian Hos- 
pital at Madison Avenue and Seventieth Street. He 
selected himself the directors for this institution and 
deeded the ground, worth S-00,ooo, and S 100,000 in 
money. He afterwards gave it 5300,000. The institu- 
tion was opened in 1872. In atklition he niaile many 
1 private gifts to needy men of letters and others. 

Mr. Lenox ne\'er married. Naturally reser\ed, he be- 
came a recluse in his later \ears, only seeing his famii)' 
I and intini.itc fiicnds, ,ind den\-ing himself even to notable 
visitors, among them Lord Dufferin. An eminent scholar 
spent several weeks in his house examining rare books 
• without once seeing its proprietor. The books were 
brought him from the library to a private room, to which 
he was Confined. Mr. Lenox died in New ^'()rk, I'eb- 
I ruary 17, 1880. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



191 



REV. HENRY M. FIELD 

Hexrv M. Field, D.D., who tliis year has reached 
the fortieth anniversar\- of his continuous service as 
editor of the New York F.va)igclist, was born April 3, 
1822, at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and has now at- 
tained a hale old age of seventy-tliree years. He received 
his collegiate education at Williams College, graduated 
in 1838, and afterwards prepared himself for and entered 
the ministry. From that period he served as pastor of 
Presh)-terian and Congregational Churches until 1 854, | 
when he entered a wider field of religious labor as editor 
and ]:)ropriet()r of the- Evam^cHst. with which he has since I 
been identifieil. 

Dr. Field comes of a foniil\- w hieli fills a distinguished 
page in American history, he being a brother of Cyrus 
W. Field, of Atlantic Telegraph fame, and of David 
Dudle}' Field and Stephen J. Field, both eminent as 
jurists. In his eminence in his own chosen field of labor 
he completes a quartette of brothers not equaled in 
American biography for distinguished intellectual ac- 
quirements. We believe onl\- two other editors in the 
United States of any rank excel him in length of ser\'ice ; 
and it is doubtful if any occupant of an editorial chair in 
the world can point to a record which unites such stead- 
fastness with so brilliant a literar)- quality. 

The Evangelist for nearly sixty-five j'ears has been a 
leading organ in the Presbyterian Church, steadily main- 
taining the progressive and liberal point of view. It was 
organized by a group of able men, who had felt the in- 
fluence of the great revival movement of 1830; it early 
espoused the anti-slavery cause, ami during the war was 
conspicuous for its devotion to the cause of liberty and 
union. In questions affecting Church beliefs and polity 
it has always been a resolute and able advocate of prog- 
ress. At the same time it has avoided the factional 
spirit, and has been distinguished for its courtesy and 
fair play. 

While Dr. Field has been industrious in editorial work 
ever since he acquired control of the Eva)igclist in 1855, 
he has not confined himself to the labors of the sanctum, 
but, on the contrary, has acquired a wide reputation as a 
traveler and as a writer of works of travel. So judicious 
a critic as Bishop Potter has declared that no American, 
except, possibly, Bayard Taylor, has e\er w ritten such 
delightful books on foreign parts ; and the severest 
critics have accorded to Dr. Field the highest place in 
this important branch of literature. Some of his books, 
like those upon Gibraltar and the Desert of Sinai, are 
classics of tra\el. Among his other books we may 
name " From Copenhagen to Venice," " From Fgypt to 
Japan," " Among the Holy Hills," " The Irish Confeder- 
ates," and " Histon- of the Atlantic Telegraph." 




Thoueh Dr. Field retired man\- \'ears acfo from the 
active pastorate, he has maintained an acti\e interest in 
the religious life of the Church, and has always been 
much sought after for occasional addresses, and for aid 
at special meetings where leaders of thought and action 
in the Church have convened. He has, moreover, found 
in his editorial position the opportunity for a long and 
important niinistr\-, open to but few clergymen, as he 
has been enabled to address week by week a vast audi- 
ence distributed not only in every part of the United 
States, but throughout the world. 

On the 1st of January, 1894, Dr. Field, wishing to 
be relieved from some of the routine cares of journal- 
ism, reorganized the Era//gt-//s/ a.s a joint-stock companj-. 
In this organization he retains the controlling interest, 
but has associated with himself a group of the most 
influential la\men in the Church, and thereby put the 
paper on a very strong financial basis. The form of the 
paper was at the same time changed, and many improve- 
ments were made in the line of the best usage in the 
periodical press of to-day. While one of the oldest, it 
is also proving itself among the most vigorous and en- 
terprising papers in religious journalism, and easily holds 
a place in the ver}^ front rank. In spite of the hard 
times, its business has shown remarkable increase, and 
its hold on the Presbyterian Church and religious com- 
munity was never so strong. 

Dr. Field comes of a famih- remarkabh' tenacious of 
life and of indomitable spirit and vigor. He wears his 
crown of threescore years and ten with ease and grace, 
and ma}- well look forward yet to many years of im- 
portant labors in the noble careei* which he set before 
himself in his youth. 



192 



J/AKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN II. STARIN. 

John Henry Stakin was born August 27, 1825, in 
Sammonsvillc, Montgonioiy (now Fulton) County, New 
York, he being a descendant of Johannes Ster, who 
came from Holland about 164S. The family afterwards 
changed its name to Stern, and finally to Starin. John 
Starin, with ten other members of the famil\-, served 
as soldiers during the Revolutionary War. His son, 
Myndert Starin, father of the subject of our sketch, 
a man of unusual ability, engaged in manufacturing 
at Sammonsvillc, and founded the town of Fulton- 
ville. 

John H. Starin inheritetl the business qualities of his 
father, which were manifested early in his life. He was 
educated at the Esperance Academy, in Schoharie County, 
and subsequently studied medicine. He did not, how- 
ever, care to pursue the medical profession, and enteretl 
his brother's drug .store in I'ultonviile as a clerk, remain- 
ing there till 1S56, when he removed to New York and 
ventured in business for himself in the line of medicine 
and toilet articles. He was early successful, quickl}' 
building up a profitable business, but was not long so 
engaged before an opening for larger enterprise declared 
itself The transportation of goods, which his business 
affairs required him to con.sider, was not at tli.il time 
very fully developed, and the idea occurred to him of 
establishing a general freight agenc)- in this city, as likely 
to prove for the convenience of ship|)ers. He unfolded 
his plan to a railroad officer, who encouraged him to 
proceed with it, offering him the patronage of his road, 
— one of the great trunk lines. Mr. Starin closed the 
contract, sold out iiis drug business, and went heartily to 
work in his new enterprise. 

The civil war, which broke out sliortly afterwards. 



proved serviceable to liim in the establishniLiit of his 
business, which he ([uickly developed to such an e.Ktent 
that he was enabled to ser\e the go\'ernment essentiallj-, 
providing it with transportation for troops and war mate- 
rial at less cost and quicker dispatch than it was able to 
do with its own means of carnage. }W the end of the 
war he had built up an extensive system of railroad and 
steamboat connection of the greatest value to mercantile 
shippers, while his reputation as a reliable business man 
was high. His trade connections since that period ha\-e 
grown to an enormous extent, he having freight lines on 
the North and East Rivers, fleets of tugs and propellers, 
lighters and car boats, excursion and pleasure boats, 
grain boats and floating elevators, while his freight con- 
nections extend to all the railioads that come to the 
rivers surrounding New York, and his dr\-docks, freight- 
ing depots, and offices are witielj' distributed along the 
wharf region of the city. His business has grown, in- 
deed, until it is the largest single enterprise of the kind 
in America, while his enteri)rise and integrity have won 
him hosts of friends. This feeling was strikingly dis- 
pla\cd in 1890, when a number of his friends, taking 
advantage of his absence in lunope, erected a bronze 
statue to his honor in Fultonville, the place of his resi- 
dence. This figure, eight feet high, stands on a granite 
base, on whose sides are bronze bas-reliefs re])resenting 
Connnerce, Legislation, Agriculture, ;uul Public Works, 
to all of which Mr. Starin's attention has been usefiiiiy 
directed. 

Politicall)- Mr. Starin has always been an earnest Re- 
publican, and has frequently held public positions. From 
1848 to 1852, during his early residence at Fultonville, 
he was postmaster at that place. In 1876 he ran for 
Congress as Representati\'e from the Twentieth District 
of New York, and was elected. In 1S7S he ran again, 
and was returned b\' a large pluralit)' \ote. .^\t the end 
<if this term a third nomination was offered him, but he 
declined to run again, saying that he favored rotation in 
office, and saw no reason why he should hokl the office 
continual!)' to the detriment of others equallj- deserving 
of it. 

Mr. Starin has been a member of the New York 
Chamber of Commerce since 1874. and in 1880 was 
made presiilent, upon the death of Horatio Se\-mour, of 
the Saratoga Monument Association topnixidea fitting 
memorial of the battle that pr.ictically ileciiled the result 
of the w.ir of the Resolution. In this enterprise he 
worked energetically, secured for it an approjjriation of 
S30,000 from Congress, added a liberal donation of his 
own, and induced others to subscribe. As a result of 
his efforts the memorial has been erected. Mr. Starin 
has been liberal in many other directions, charitable anil 
other. He belongs to many clubs ami societies, and is 
a trustee of Union College. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



193 



ALBBRT M. PALMER. 

Albert Marshman Palmkk, conspicumis in the history 
of theatrical management in New York City, was born 
at North Stonington, Connecticut, July 20, 1838. The 
family name can be traced back with honorable distinc- 
tion to the earliest days of the colonies Mr. Palmer's 
fithcr, the Rev. Albert Gallatin Palmer, D.D., was a 
much beloved clergyman of the Baptist Church, minis- 
tering for many years at Stonington, where he died in 
1889. His mother was a IMiss Sarah A. Langworthy, 
of an old Connecticut family. 

He was cducatetl at the University of New York, 
graduating from its Law School in i860. For a time he 
continued the study of the profession, but was soon called 
to the responsible position of secretary to Mr. Barney, 
collector of the port of New York. These were busy 
days in that department, and Mr. Palmer here gained a 
practical knowledge of affairs. In 1866 he was made 
librarian of the Mercantile Library, at that time a centre 
of literary interest and activity, and there he established 
order and effectiveness in all its branches. It was from 
this atmosphere of literature that he ■was unexpectedly 
drawn into the management of the Lhiion Square Thea- 
tre, whose proprietor, Mr. Sheridan Shook, finding his 
establishment in a state of ilccadence, and knowing of 
Mr. Palmer's business efficiency, offered to give him full 
charge, and to permit him to dev^clop the house on his 
own lines. On these conditions the offer was accepted. 

Mr. Palmer entered this new field with the one idea 
to make a theatre of the highest rank and purpose. 
The task was a formidable one, for Wallack's, just 
around the corner, and Daly's were then in their vogue, 
and the field seemed to be occupied. The remarkable 
result was that within two years the little considered 
and almost abandoned Union Square Theatre became 
the most thronged and profitable house in town, begin- 
ning in 1872 a career that lasted without interruption of 
successes for ten years. These ten \ears are conceded 
to be the most brilliant of any under single management 
in the history of the New York stage ; no one house 
had ever had such financial returns ; and it was without 
precedent that an outsider shoukl, without practical 
experience of the stage, establish an institution so com- 
plete in its compan\' and results. Dion Boucicault's 
adaptation of " Led Astra\-" was one of the first pieces 
to awaken the town to the excellence of the productions 
under the new management, and in 1874 the triumph of 
" The Two Orphans" brought the house to the height 
of prosperity and recognition, this production proving 
the most artistic success as a finished melodrama known 
in the histoiy of the New York stage. One cause of 
this was that Mr. Palmer had had the courage and judg- 
ment to subject it to a thorough and radical revision, a 
care that he bestowed on all pieces accepted by him 




or written to his order. In this i)lay, as in others, 
the scenic possibilities were exhausted, the actors fitly 
chosen, sometimes from the ranks, and a general per- 
fection was to be seen. To give the public the very 
best in e\-ery department and detail was iiis principle, 
and has been followed b\- him in his entire career. 
Many other plays were presented with similar success. 
Bronson Howard made his first financial success at this 
house, and Bartley Campbell was started on his brief 
and brilliant, but productive career. 

In 1882, Mr. Palmer retired from the management, 
feeling the need of rest, but was immediately sought 
out by Mr. Mallor\', of the Madison Square Theatre, 
and shortl)' afterwards entered on the management of 
that house, which he controlled in ever\- particular. 
With his usual success in securing a notable play it 
was not long before the town was delighted with the 
production of " Jim the Penman." I-'olIowing this came 
" Saints and Sinners," " Elaine," and man\- other pla\-s 
that sustained the prestige of his management. The 
closing piece of liis direct management of the house 
was " Alabama," and it was with this play that he began 
his career at Palmer's Theatre, which he had assumed 
in 1890, changing the name from Wallack's, and whicli 
he now controls in common with the Garden Theatre. 
During his career he has brought man}- stars to this 
countr}-, while numbers of distinguished actors have 
passed under his management. 

Mr. Palmer has been president of the Actors' P'und since 
1888, and i*; a member of the Goethe Society, the Pla\ers' 
Club, the Union League Club, etc. His summer home 
is at Stamford, Connecticut, on the banks of Mill River. 
Mrs. A. M. Palmer is conspicuotis in helpful efforts for 
the well-being of the profession, being president of the 
Professional Women's League, a member of Sorosis, etc. 



194 



MAKERS OF XEW YORK. 




DANIKL I'HCENIX. 

Daniel Piiocxix, a citizen of New York of inucli 
prominence during and after the Revolutionary period, 
was born in tliat cit)- about 173", and resided there 
during liis whole career, pla\-ing an active part in the 
mercantile and public life of the city. His business life 
was that of a merchant, in w hich he was very successful, 
attaining what, at that period of more modest views than 
the present, was esteemed a position of wealth. His 
life, however, was by no means confincil to business, he 
becoming conspicuous in the political affairs of the city 
in those far-off days before the present political parties 
and public questions were born. In the slow growth of 
New York from the position of a village to that of a 
metropolis, a period arri\ed in its finances in which a 
custodian of its funds became necessarj', and Mr. PhiLni.\ 
was chosen to occupy this responsible position. In other 
words, he was the first city treasurer of New York. In 
connection with this official jiosilion he also held that 
of city chamberlain, being the first in this also. These 
important positions, the election to which shows the high 
standard lie had attained in the regard of his fellow-citi- 
zens, he retained for twenty years, manifesting in them 
an integrity and devotion to public duty which have 
not always been emulated in later incumbents of these 
important offices. 

A conspicuous patriot in .sentiment, lie was, in common 
with many other loyal citizens, obliged to leave the city 
on the occasion of its occu|)atioii b)' the Hritisli army, 
and to remain an exile iluring the whole period of the 
war, not daring to return until the end of the conflict. 
On the day following the evacuation of the city by the 
British troops, November 26, 1 783, he had the honor of 



presenting to General Washington, then entering at the 
head of the American forces, a patriotic address of wel- 
come, signed by himself and others of the distinguished 
citizens who had spent the period of British occupation 
in exile from their native cit\'. An extract from this 
address will undoubtedly be of interest. 

"Sir, — At a moment when the arm of t\-ranny is 
yielding u]) its fondest usurpations, we hope the saluta- 
tions of long-suffering exiles, but now happy freemen, 
will not be deemed an unworthy tribute. In this place, 
antl at this moment of exultation and triumph, while the 
ensigns of Slavery still linger in our sight, we look up to 
\-ou, our deliverer, with unusual tran.sports of gratitude 
and joy. . . . The citizens of New York are eminenti}- 
indebted to your \ irtucs ; and wc, who now have the 
honor to address j-our Excellencj', have been often 
companions of }our sufferings and witnesses of j'our 
e.xertions. Permit us, therefore, to approach your Excel- 
Ienc\' with the dignit}- and sincerit)' of freemen, and to 
assure you that we shall preserve, with our latest breath, 
our gratitude for )-our services, and veneration for your 
character." 

In response to this address, signed by Daniel Pluenix 
and others. General Washington felicitously replied : 

" Great as your joy must be on this pleasing occasion, 
it can scarcely exceeil that which I feel at seeing you, 
gentlemen, who from the noblest motives ha\e suffered 
a volimtary e.xile for many \"ears, return again in [)eace 
and tiiuniph to enjo\- the fruits of your virtumis comluct. 
The fortitude and perseverance which you and vour suf- 
fering brethren have exhibited in the course of the war 
have not only endeared you to )-our countr\-men, but 
will be remembered with adniir.ition and applause to the 
latest posterit}'." 

These extracts, which arc all we h.ive space to give, 
will suffice to show the spirit of this interesting occasion. 
We may say, in conclusion, that Mr. Phieni.x was for 
many years an elder in the Presbyterian Church, lie 
was a man of iducation and relMieinent, strongly inter- 
esteil in manv religious and benevolent institutions of 
the city, and in all that contributed to its growth and 
prosperity. He died in I Si 2. 

Tlie PiKenix Building, on Chapel Street, New Haven, 
was erected on his property, and still remains in pos- 
.scssion of some of his descendants. He left four chil- 
dren, of whom l-ilizabeth married Nathaniel G. Ingraham, 
father of Judge Daniel P. Ingr.iham, and Jeiiet married 
RichartI Riker, the first recoriler of New York. Among 
his great-grandchildren are Major I^dgar Ketchum and 
Colonel Alexander P. Kelchum, of New York City, two 
of the children of lilizabeth Phieni.x and luigar Ketchum, 
late of this city. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



19s 



MAJOR EDGAR KETCHUM. 

Edgar Ketchum was bom in the cit\- of New York, 
July 15, 1840. He is the son of Edgar Ketchum and 
Elizabeth Phcenix, his mother being the granddaughter 
of Daniel Phcenix, a distinguished citizen and merchant 
of New York, and its first cit_\' treasurer and city cham- 
berlain, which position he held for twenty years. He 
was also a member of the first Chamber of Commerce 
of this city. On his father's side Mr. Ketchum is de- 
scended from Cornelius Van Tienhoven, who was a 
prominent citizen of New York more than two hundred 
years ago. 

Mr. Ketchum graduated with the degree of A.B. at 
the College of the City of New York in the \-ear i860. 
Three years afterwards he recei\ed that of A.M. He 
subsequently studied law in his fatl'.cr's office and at 
Columbia College Law School, graduating in 1S62, and 
was then admitted to practice law. 

Early in the civil war Mr. Ketchum joined the cele- 
brated New York Seventh Regiment, and subsequently 
was appointed by the President an officer in the Signal 
Corps in the U. S. Arm}-. He served in the Army 
of the James before Riciimond in this field of duty, and 
was highly commended by his superior officers at that 
time. 

At a later date he took part in the second Fort Fisher 
expedition, sen'ing on the staff of General A. H. Terry 
and General C. J. Paine. He was twice promoted, once 
for gallant and meritorious services at the capture of 
that fort. He participated in the capture of Fort Ander- 
son, was at the battle of Town Creek and the capture of 
Wilmington, serving on the staff of General J. M. Scho- 
field and that of General J. D. Cox, and rendering valu- 
able service in connection with these victories. 

After the capture of Wilmington he served again on 
the staff of General Terry, and was with him until after 
the battles of Bentonville and Averysborough in March, 
1865. His duties at the capture of Fort Fisher were of 
a very responsible nature, he being occupied during the 
period of the assault and bombardment in communicating 
inf )rmatiun from General Terry to Admiral Porter, direct- 
ing the firing of the fleet so as to a\oid injur}- to the 
advancing sections of our army. During this time he 
was constantly under fire, and was especially exposed 
to the aim of the enemy's sharp-shooters. The morning 
after the capture of the fort, he narrowh- escaped death 
b_\- the explosion of the magazine, at which time two 
hundred men were killed. 

The capture of Fort Fisher with the subsequent loss 
of all the Cape Fear River defenses and of Wilmington, 
the great importing depot of the South, effectually ended 
all blockade-running, and justified the statement of Gen- 




eral Lee, that P'ort I'isher must be hckl or he could not 
subsist his army. 

Captain Ketchum was honorably discharged from the 
United States service in August, 1865, the war having 
closed. On his return to New York he resumed his 
position in the Seventh Regiment, but was soon pro- 
moted, and afterwards was appointed engineer with the 
rank of major in the 1-^irst Brigade, P'irst Division, New 
York National Guartl, in recognition of his services in 
the field during the war. After holding this position for 
three )-ears he resigned and was honorably discharged. 

Major Ketchum has been in constant practice of the 
law at New York City since his return to civil life, de- 
voting himself principally to the examination of titles, 
conve}'ancing, etc., a branch of practice with which he 
is very familiar, and in connection with which his long 
association with liis father, one of the most distinguished 
practitioners of Xcw York, has given him peculiar ad- 
vantages. 

He is a member of the Militar\- Order of the Loj-al 
Legion of the United States, the War Veterans of the 
Seventh Regiment, Post Lafayette, G.A.R., the Society 
of the A run- of the Potomac, and the Veteran Signal 
Corps Association. 

In 1870 he married Angelica S. Anderson, daughter 
of Smith W. Anderson, deceased, and has two children, 
Edith Schuyler and Edgar Van Rensselaer Ketchum. 

Since 1870 he has resided at Woody Crest, a pictur- 
esque private park on Jerome Avenue, near One Hun- 
dred and Si.xt\--fift]i Street, in New York City, in a house 
erected by him soon after his marriage on a portion of 
the estate of James Anderson, the grandfather of Mrs. 
Ketchum, the land having been ift the possession of the 
Anderson famih- for more than a hundred years. 



196 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM B. HORNBI.OWLR. 

William 15ltlkk Hounblowkk, one o( the leading 
members of tlie New York bar, was born at Paterson, 
New Jersey, May 13, 1851. He is sprung from a family 
of professional men, of wiiom his great-grandfather, 
Hon. Josiaii Mornblowcr, a civil engineer, brought over 
from ICngland in 1750 the first steam-engine ever seen 
on the American continent. This was imported for use 
in the copper-mines of lielleville, New Jersey. Joseph 
C. Hornblowcr, his grandfather, was made in 1832 chief- 
justice of New Jersey, and pursued a very distinguished 
career. His father, Rev. William H. Hornblower, served 
iluring a part of his career as professor in the Theologi- 
cal Seminary at Alleghany, Penn.sylvania. 

Mr. Hornblower was prepared for college at the Col- 
legiate Institute of New Y(trk. and afterwards entered 



Princeton College, from which he graduateil in 



IS7I. 



As a scholar he ranked high in his classes, and won the 
first prize in luiglish literature and belles-lettres. He 
was a member of the Cliosophic Literary Society of the 
college, and was made belles-lettres orator of his class 
in the commencement exercises. At the end of his 
college course he entered the I.aw School of Columbia 
College, from which he graduated in 1875, and was 
immediately afterwarils admitted to the bar. I le resided 
with his uncle. Judge Woodruff, during his period of law 
stuily, and gained great advantage from the discussions 
of legal subjects which took place in his uncle's house. 
He had also the advantage of association with another 
uncle, the late Justice Brady, whose profound knowledge 
of the law must have proved of much ailvantage to him. 
In his legal career Mr. Hornblower's progress was 
rapid, — more so than is usually the case with novitiates 
in the profession. His native gifts were aided by an 



unusual industry, and he quickly found hinrself in the 
possession of a profitable practice. His first professional 
successes were in the field of banl^ruptcy, a practice 
which gave him practical experience in mercantile mat- 
ters, and soon led to an extcnsi\e business in commercial 
law-cases. His work was thoroughly done, and his 
notable fidelity to the interests of his clients quickly 
brought him to the attention of large corporations, ami 
added to the importance of his clientage. He has 
argued man\' important cases before both State antl 
Federal tribunals, and with an ability that has made his 
arguments matters of reference, and has brought his 
name piominentl)' into consideration as a suitable candi- 
date for judicial honors. He is the senior member of the 
legal partnership of Hornblower, Byrne & Tayler, a firm 
of much j)romincncc in the metropolis. .Among the more 
important cases which he has argued are many invoking 
questions of insurance, railroad, and corporate law, in all 
of which fields of practice he has become a very skillful 
advocate. 

Mr. Hornblower has also written much on legal sub- 
jects, his productions being couched in lucid and \'igorous 
language. Among his leading papers and addresses may 
be mentioned " Conflict between Federal ami State De- 
cisions," in The Aniivicaii LiUk' Rtric7i\ March, 1S80; 
"The Legal Status of the Indian," an address before 
the American Bar Association in 1891 ; "Is Codifica- 
tion of the Law Lxpedient?" a lecture delivered to the 
American Social Science Association in 1888. He is an 
active member of the Bar Association, ,uul has served 
on its most important committees, ami as secretary of 
its executive committee. 

Politically he votes with the Democratic party, but is 
largeK' independent in political \iews, thinking for him- 
self, and avoiding extreme part)' opinions. In 1890 he 
was appointed by the governor on the commission created 
to propose amendments to the judiciary article of the 
State constitution. In 1893, upon the death of Justice 
Blatchford, of the United States Supreme Court, Presi- 
dent Cleveland nominated IMr. 1 Lunblower for the vacant 
chair. This nomination was a high honor, he being, 
with four exceptions, the youngest man ever named for 
a seat on the Supreme Court bench. His nomination, 
however, arousetl much partisan prejmlice, anil engen- 
dered a feeling of hostility that causetl the rejection of 
his name by the Senate. The nomination shows clearlj- 
the status which he holds before the bar, ami is signifi- 
cant of a very rapid progress in his jirofe-^sion during 
his twenty j-ears of practice. 

Mr. Hornblower is a member of \'arious .societies and 
clubs of New York, including the Democratic, the Re- 
form, the Metropolitan, the Manhattan, the Century, and 
the University Clubs. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



197 



SYDNEY DILLON. 

SvDXEV Dillon', a noted railroad-builder, was born at 
Northampton, Montgomer)- Count)-, New York, May 7, 
1812, the son of a farmer in that locality. His grand- 
father had been a Revolutionary soldier. His education 
was obtained in the common schools of his native village, 
and he was obliged to begin his business career early 
in life, at first as an errand-boy, being engaged by the 
parties then building the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad. 
This, running from Albany to Schenectady, was the first 
railroad constructed in the State. 

The boy's first service determined his later career. He 
ne.xt became engaged in similar labor on the Rensselaer 
and Saratoga Railroad, and eventually obtained a posi- 
tion as foreman for the contractors engaged in building 
the Boston and Providence Railroad. The head-quarters 
of the contractors was at Sharon, and provisions for the 
working force had to be taken in wagons from Schenec- 
tady to this place, a distance of two hundred and twenty 
miles. 

Mr. Dillon's work in connection witli this road con- 
tinued for about two years, when he obtained a situation 
as foreman and manager for Carmichael, Fairbanks & 
Otis, the contractors for the Stonington Railroad, then 
under construction. At a later date he became en<ra<jed 
upon the Western Railroad of Massachusetts, and while 
occupied in some heavy rock excavations in connection 
with this road near Charleston his ability in constructive 
work attracted the attention of W. H. Swift, an engineer, 
who advised him to undertake railroad construction on 
his own account. In compliance with this advice he 
made a bid for work in 1S48, and secured his first con- 
tract, covering only a single mile of road. 

His experience had made him a skilled builder, and 
having completed this first task successfully he was en- 
couraged to undertake a larger contract, this time for a 
heavy job on the Troy and Schenectady Railroad. He 
had in this to excavate a hill of clay two miles west of 
Troy, and employed a steam excavator, a machine which 
he ever afterwards used in heavy work. 

From this time forward Mr. Dillon's progress was 
rapid, road after road coming into his hands as con- 
structor. Among those in w hich he was engaged may 
be named the Hartford and Springfield, the Massachu- 
setts, Rutland and Burlington, the New Jersey Central, 
the Boston and New York Central, the Philadelphia and 
Erie, the Erie and Cleveland, and the Morris and Essex. 
His connection with the Union Pacific as constructor and 
manager began in 1865. This great work of railroad- 




building was completed b\' him in four years, its con- 
nection with the Central Pacific at Promontory Point, 
eleven hundred miles west of Omaha, being made in 
1869. He became director of this road, and remained 
so for nearly thirty years, being several times its presi- 
dent, and chairman of the board of directors at the time 
of his death. 

Mr. Dillon's subsequent constructive work was in 
connection with the New Orleans, Mobile and Chatta- 
nooga road, of which he built fifty miles, the Connecticut 
Valley, the Chillicothe, the Council Bluffs and Omaha, 
the Canada Southern, and the Paterson branch of the 
Morris and Essex. He also lowered the tracks of the 
New York Central and constructed the railroad tunnel 
and viaduct on Fourth Avenue, New York. 

In addition to his presidency of the Union Pacific, the 
heavy duties connected with which hastened his death, 
he served as president of the Kansas Pacific, and as 
director of the Missouri Pacific, the Chicago, Rock 
Island and Pacific, the Canada Southern, the Delaware, 
Lackawanna and Western, and the Wheeling and Lake 
Erie Railroads, the Manhattan Elevated Railway, the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, the Pacific Mail 
Steamship Company, and some financial associations. 

He was married in 1 841, and had two children, both 
daughters. He died June 9, 1892, in New York City. 
Personally he was a man of dignified presence, reticent 
in manner, but of great business judgment and prevision, 
while his probity, sincerity, and earnestness of character 
won him universal respect. 



26 



1 98 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




FREDHRICK DH PHYSTHR. 

Till-: Dc Peyster family, whose first member in .Amer- 
ica, Johannes dc Peyster, reached New Amstcnlam in 
1645, has ranked since amon<j the most prominent t)f 
tlic old Dutch stocks, not only in tlirect linea<je but 
through its connections by marriage with the leading 
New York families. Thej- descend from a Huguenot 
family which settled in Molland soon after the massacre 
of St. Bartholomew. The first American De Peyster 
antl his descendants played leading parts in New York 
history, down to the era of the subject of our sketch. 
Frederick de Peyster, who was boiii in New York, 
November 11, 1796, at his parents' house on Hano\er 
Sc}uare, then one of the most fashionable quarters of the 
city. He was educateil at first in a notable grammar- 
school of that day, situated in Poughkeepsic, and later 
prepared for college at Union Hall, entering Columbia 
College in 181 2, and graduating with a very honorable 
record for scholarship in 1816. 

Mr. de Peyster, after his graduation, entered u[)on the 
study of law, untler I Ion. P. A. Jay, son of the celebrated 
John Jay; also under the learned jurist Peter Van 
.Schaack. He was admittetl to practice in the .Supreme 
Court of New York in 1819, and devoted himself here 
exclusively to chancery cases, in which he won distinc- 
tion so rapidly as to be appointed by Governor Clinton, 
in the following year, a master in chancery. I'or the I 
seventeen years that followed lie retainetl this office, b)- 
successive appointments, winning an enviable reputation 
by his diligent and exhaustive research in the jirepara- 
tion of cases. P'ew in his profession ha\'e been more 
highly honored by tJie almost complete endorsement of 
their conclusions by judicial tribunals. 

In 1837 he resigned his position and willulrew from 
legal practice, partly through the necessity of caring for 



his estate and that of his father-in law , Hon. John Watts, 
and partly with the purpose of devoting his time and at- 
tention to literarj' pursuits. He had a strong native 
inclination for a literary life, w hich he had developed to 
a considerable extent in college, where he took a leading 
part in all literary exercises. During his legal career he 
had continued his culture in literature, and developed a 
pleasing and attractive style, with a method of treatment 
of his subjects which has been characterized as " accurate, 
logical, antl scholarl)-." After his retirement horn the 
law he gave much attention to historical subjects, w hile 
also engaging largely in philanlliropic enterprises. His 
studies e\-entuated in many publications, principally his- 
torical, which (lisphu- a mastery of the subject the fruit 
of extended reading. 

His treatise on Hcllomont attracted the most attention, 
and was followed by a second production, — left in manu- 
script at the time of his death, — " A Review of the Ad- 
ministration of Governor Colonel Benjamin Fletcher, the 
Bail Preileccssor of the Good Beliomont." His ]iublica- 
tions brought him distinction abroad as well as at home, 
and in 1877 he was elected an Honorary I'ellow of the 
Royal Historical Society of Great Britain. He was also 
at the time of his death president of the New York His- 
torical Society, his service in which is highly commended 
by George Bancroft, the historian, as having raised it 
from a condition of languor and decaj- into one of estab- 
lislu-d ,md increasing prosperity. 

Mr. lie Peyster's life has also a militar\' side. During 
his college days he was elected commander of a students' 
organization to assist in re])eliing an}- in\asion of New- 
York iluring the War of 18 12. This organization as- 
sisted General Jonas Mapes in the construction of fielil- 
works to defend McGowan's Pass, a portion of the line 
of intrenchments between Harlem and the North River. 
At a later date he became interested ii-i the State militia, 
and was commissioned captain iii the One Hundied and 
I""ifteenth Regiment. In 1825 he was appointed an .u'lle 
on the staff of General I'leming, and later on that of 
Governor De Witt Clinton, and became military secretary 
to the governor for the southern district of New York, 
an office at that time of considerable im|iortance. 

He also took an active part in religious, educational, 
and benevolent institutions, jwrticularly in the New York- 
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Childrrii, of 
which he \vas one of the original incorporators .nid a 
vice-i)resiilent. For more than fiftj' )-ears he serxed cm 
the board of managers of the New York Bible Society. 
He was also a member of the Institution for the Instruc- 
tion of the Deaf and Dumb, an active worker in the 
Home for Incurables, and for fifty years clerk of the 
board of trustees of the Leake and Watts Or[ihan 1 lonie. 
He was a member of many other organizations. His 
death took place August 17, 1882. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



J 99 



GENERAL JOHN W. DE PEYSTER. 

John Watts de Pevster, the only child of Frederick 
de Peyster, a sketch of whose life has been given, and 
of Mary Justina de Pe_\-stcr, daughter of John Watts, a 
distinguished New Yorker of the Revolutionary and later 
period, was born in New York Cit\-, March 9, 1S21. In 
both his lines of descent can be traced a succession of 
soldiers, during the Colonial and Revolutionary periods, 
an ancestry which naturally predisposed him towards a 
military career. Military reading was his youthful de- 
light, and mock battles, in association with his cousin, 
Philip Kearney, afterwards major-general, his \-outhful 
recreation. He traveled in Europe in 1834, when thir- 
teen years of age, and there devoted his time to stLidy- 
ing the science of war, as developed in E'rance, Italy, 
and Algiers, not only carefully reading militar)' treatises, 
but closely studying maps, plans, and reports, and con- 
sulting original authorities. To enable himself to do 
this he studied the several foreign languages in which 
these documents were written. 

His industry in these pursuits was untiring, while his 
highly retentive memory enabled him to gain a vast mass 
of facts, which he employed in composition with logical 
powers of analj-sis. He thus in time became a writer 
and critic on military matters of very unusual powers. 
From his youth he controlled his own studies in this 
direction, and became in a true sense self-educated in 
military lore. 

While still but a }-outh he became connected with the 
New York Volunteer Fire Department, in which he was 
so active as to bring on an affection of the heart, from 
which lie suffered severely ever afterwards. He was 
among the first to advocate a paid fire department, and 
also to recommend the organization of a police force 
conducted on principles of military discipline. 

He entered the State military service in 1845, and in 
the following j^ear was commissioned colonel. When 
the military law of 1851 was enacted he was appointed 
brigadier-general in the State ser\ice, being the first 
officer of this rank to be appointed by the governor. At 
a later date he was sent to Europe as special military 
agent of the State, to report on the organization of the 
militia and of municipal military organizations in foreign 
lands. His report, published as a Senate document, was 
highl)- valuable, and became of great service in the or- 
ganization of State troops and in the subsequent exigen- 
cies of the civil war. 

General de Peyster was appointed by Go\-ernor Clark 
in 1855 adjutant-general upon his staff. He resigned in 
a few months, having found the department so controlled 
by political influences as to render military reform next 
to hopeless. He combated this condition of affairs 
vigorously, and only resigned on finding his efforts un- 
available. He was afterwards offered the command of 




various New York regiments, but his broken health and 
the frequent hemorrhages from which he suffered obliged 
him to decline. 

When war was threatened, he offered President Lincoln 
three regiments, and made a similar offer in the autumn 
of 1 86 1. General de Peyster did not share in the general 
feeling, at that time, that the war would soon be over. 
He predicted in ad\ance the extent and greatness of the 
struggle, and was the first to advocate the employment 
of colored men as soldiers. Throughout the war, in 
which the state of his health pre\-cnted him from partici- 
pating, he published many keenly critical articles on the 
subject. In 1869, on the occasion of the State of New 
York appointing him brevet major-general, flattering 
testimonials of his great military knowledge and the 
value of his advice and influence during the war were 
given by Generals Pleasanton and Grant. 

General de Pey.ster has been a voluminous writer on 
the subject of his special study and on historical subjects 
in general. In addition to his service in this direction 
he has followed the philanthropic example of his father, 
and given much attention to matters of charit}-. He has 
built a Home for Consumptives in Dutchess Count)-, 
New York, and in connection with it has erected a train- 
ing-school and donated nearly three liundred acres of 
ground, part of the old family estate. He also has built 
and equipped a Methodist Church at Madalin, Dutchess 
County. He has received the thanks of the New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania Legislatures for portraits of military 
celebrities presented to them, and has given the State of 
New York a bronze bass-relief representing the Conti- 
nental camp at West Point during the Revolution. Gen- 
eral de Peyster, while retaining his^city residence, dwells 
principall}^ in his beautiful country-seat at Tivoli, on the 
banks of the Hudson. 



200 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




KILIAEN VAN RENSSHLAHR. 

The Van Renssclacrs, of the MaiKir of Rensselaers- 
wyck, ha\e for over two hundred years lield an impor- 
tant position in the historj' of America. Coming here, 
as they did, as founders of a colony, who acknowledged 
no superior power on this side of the ocean, they were 
actual!)' sovereigns on their own domains. Before coming 
to America the Van Renssclaers were people of impor- 
tance in Holland, respected and honored by their country- 
men. They held many positions of trust, and tlieir name 
figures constanth" as burgomaster, counsellor, treasurer, 
etc., in many of the important towns of their native 
country. The picture of Jan Van Rensselaer, which 
still hangs in the Orphan Asylum at Nykerk, represents 
him as a Jonkheer or nobleman in the distinguishing 
dress of his class. Over the heads of the regents in 
this picture hang small shields on which are displa_\ed 
their coats of arms, making it jjcrfectly easy to identif\- 
Jonkheer Van Rensselaer, as these arms are identical 
with tJiose borne by the family at the present day. An 
interesting tradition with regard to these arms e.xists, 
which, however, rests on no reliable foundation. It is 
said that on some festive occasion a grand illumination 
was displayed in Holland. The Van Rensselaer of tiiat 
day ordered large iron baskets (which represented iiis 
crest) to Ix: filled with inflammable materials and placed 
on the gate-posts, house-tops, and ever)' prominent posi- 
tion of both city and country residences. This was ilone 
with such brilliant effect as to call firth special commen- 
dation from the Prince of (Grange, who, according to the 
custom of the times, when favors were esteemed and 
given instead of money, and the highest one was an 
augmentation of anything pertaining to the coat of arms, 
begged Van Rensselaer t(t henceforward adopt as his 
motto " Omnibus Kffulgeo," or " I outshine all," in.stcad 



of the Dutch motto referrii.g to the cross on the shiekl, 
of " Nieman Zonder,"' or " No man without a cross." 
The motto has been corrupted, and is usually written 
"Omnibus Effulgior," but it has not been generally used 
by the V^an Rensselaer family of late years, as being too 
arrogant for their simple tastes. 

Kiliaen \'an Rensselaer, the founder of the colon)' of 
Rensselaerswyck in America, was a man of character 
and substance. He was a merchant of Amsterdam, 
wealthy, and of high consideration, at a time when the 
merchants of Holland had become, like those of ltal\-. 
the princes of the land. He was a proprietor of large 
estates, and a director in the Dutch West India Com- 
pany, which compan)-, having obtained a footing in 
America, in.stituted a college of nine commissioners in 
1629, to take the superior direction and charge of the 
affairs of New Netherland. 

Kiliaen V'an Rensselaer was a member of this college. 
A liberal charter of privileges to patroons was obtained 
from the company, which pro\ided for founding a landed 
and baronial aristocrac)' for the provinces of the Dutch 
in the New World. 

Early in 1630, Kiliaen V'an Rensselaer sent an agent 
from Holland to make his first purchase of land from 
the Indian owners, which purchase was sanctioned b)- 
the authorities of the company at New Amsterdam. 
Other purchases were made for him up to the year 
1637, when his full complement of land was matle up, 
— viz., a tract of twenty-four miles in breadth by forty- 
eight miles in length, containing over seven hundred 
thousand acres, which now compose the counties of 
Albany, Rensselaer, and part of Columbia. ^Ml his 
colonists, numbering one hundred and fifty adult souls, 
were sent out at his own cost ; anil, as the charter re- 
quired, the colony was plantctl within four )-ears from 
the completion of his purchases. 

The ])nwer of the ])atroons (the title given b)- the 
West India charter to these pi oprietors) was analogous 
to that of the old feudal barons, the States-General of 
Holland onl\- being their superiors.* The patroon main- 
tained a high militar)- and judicial authority, had his 
own fortresses, planted with his own cannon, manned 
with his own soldiers, and with his own flag waving o\er 
them. The courts of the colony were his own courts, 
where the gravest questions and the highest crimes were 
cognizable, but with ajipcals in the more important 
cases. Justice was administered in his own name. The 
colonists were his immediate subjects, and took the oath 
of fealty aiul allegiance to him. 



• The Dutch word patroon is only the variant of the word patron, 
which means literally a protector, or one who takes the place of a father, 
being only the sliortcneil Dutch form of the I-alin /rj/r«««t. In Dutch 
commercial and political history we find the patroons in mediaeval times. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



201 



The position of the colony was one of threat delicacy 
and danger, as it was surrounded by warlike tribes of 
savages; but, happily, the patroons of that period, and 
their directors, by a strict observance of the laws of 
justice, and by maintaining a guarded conduct towards 
the Indians, escaped those wars and conflicts so common 
among the infant colonies of the country. 

It is alleged that Kiliaen Van Rensselaer \isitcd his 
colony in [jerson in 163". If he ever did come, his stay 
in this countr}- was not long. In 1664 great changes 
took place : the English conquered the province which 
hatl hitherto belonged to the Dutch, and the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck fell with that of New Amsterdam ; but 
the English governors confirmed the claims and privi- 
leges of Rensselaerswyck when the provinces passed 
under British rule. 

In 1685 the Dutch colony of Rensselaerswyck was 
converted and created into a regular lordship or manor, 
with all the privileges belonging to an English estate 
and jurisdiction of the manorial kind. To the lord of 
the manor, Kiliaen, the fourth patroon, was expressly 
given authority to administer justice within his domain 
" in botli kinds, in his own court-leet and court-baron." 
Other large pri\ileges were conferred on him, and he 
had the right, with the freeholders and inhabitants of 
the manor, to a separate representation in the Colonial 
Assembly. All these rights continued unimpaired down 
to the time of the war of the Revolution. 

The first patroon, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, was twice 
married, and had nine children, five sons and four 
daughters, all of whom survived him, and, according^ to 
the laws of Holland, shared equally his estates. He 
died in 1646. His first wife was Hellegonda Van B)'let, 
by whom he had one son, Johannes, who married his 
cousin, h'.lizabeth Van Twillcr. 

JOHANNES VAN RENSSELAER. 

JoH.VNNES Van Rensselaeu was the second patroon, 
and died young, leaving one son, Kiliaen, and one 
daughter. During the nonage of Kiliaen the estate 
in America was managed by his uncle, Jan Baptist Van 
Rensselaer, w ho was made " Director of the Estate." 
Young Kiliaen married his cousin, Anna Van Rensse- 
laer, and died in 1687, at Watervliet, New York, without 
children. 

JEREMIAS VAN RENSSELAER. 

Jeremias Van Rensselaer, the third son of Kiliaen 
the first patroon, succeeded his brother Jan Baptist as 
director of the colony in 1658, and for sixteen years 
administered its affairs with great prudence and discre- 
tion. He was much respected by the French, antl wielded 
an influence over the Indians which was onl}- surpassed 
b}- that of Van Corlear. On account of the inaccuracies 




of the boundaries, etc., considerable difficulties were ex- 
perienced in obtaining a patent for the manor from the 
Duke of York upon the change of government from 
the Dutch to the Ejiglish rule. To obviate the trouble, 
some persons of influence advised Jeremias, the " Di- 
rector," to take out a patent in his own name, he being 
qualified to hold real estate, having become a British 
subject. To his great honor, it is recorded that he re- 
jected the advice, saying, " He was only co-heir, and 
could not thus defraud his sisters and brothers." 

On the death of Jeremias Van Rensselaer, in 1674, the 
affairs of the " Colony of Rensselaersw\-ck'' were admin- 
istered conjointl)-, during the minorit\- of Kiliaen (then 
twelve years of age), by Dominie Nicolaus Van Rensse- 
laer, and Madame Maria Van Rensselaer, and Stephanus 
Van Cortlandt. Nicolaus had the directorship of the 
colony, Madame Van Rensselaer was the treasurer, and 
Stephanus Van Cortlandt had the charge of the books. 
Dominie Nicolaus dying in 1678, the chief management 
of the minor's affairs devolved on his mother and uncle. 
Madame Maria Van Rensselaer was the daughter of 
Oloff \'an Cortlandt and Ann Lockermans, and married 
Jeremias Van Rensselaer in 1662. She died in 1689, 
fifteen years after his death, leaving three sons, Kiliaen, 
Johannes, and Hendrick. Johannes died unmarried. 
From the two brothers, Kiliaen and Hendrick, have 
.sprung all the descendants of the Van Rensselaer name 
in this country. 

The heirs of the first patroon held his estate in common 
until 1695, nearly fifty years after his death. In 1695 
negotiations were entered into with Kiliaen of Albany 
(son of Jeremias, deceased) and the heirs in Holland 
for a settlement of their grandfjtther's estate. On the 
25th of No\'ember, 1695, the settlement was completed 
and the legal paper executed. The Hollander attorney 



202 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




for Ryckcrt, Eleonora, and for tlic cliildrcii of Susanna, 
deceased, released to the .Amciicaii for liinisclf, antl as 
attorney for his brothers Joliannes and Hcndrick, and for 
his sisters Anna and Maria, all the Manor of Reiissc- 
laerswyck, " containing seven hundred thousand acres of 
tillable land," all the Claverack tract of sixty thousand 
acres except three farms, and all the personal property 
except " seven hundred pieces of eight" (or S/OO). The 
American released to the Hollanders all the real estate, 
personal and contingent, in Holland, of which the Crailo 
estate and a tract of land in Guekleriand formetl a ])art. 
I'"our of tile nine children of the fust patroon IkkI died 
without heirs; his witiow was also dead; consequently 
the estate was divided into five parts: one for the family 
in America, and the otiier four for the heirs in Holland. 

In 1704 a charter from Queen Anne confirmed the 
estate to Kiliaen, the eldest son of Jcremias (third son of 
the original patroon, the oldest having died without issue). 
The estate came to him by inheritance, according to the 
canons of descent established by the law of England. 

Kiliaen was the first lord of the Manor of Rensselaers- 
wyck, which he represented in the I'rovincial Assembly 
from 1691 to 1703, when he was called to the Council. 
In 1704 he conveyed the lower manor Cla\ crack, with 
the Crailo estate at Greenbush, to his younger brother 
I lendrick, as his share of his grandfather's estate. He 
married his cou.sin, Maria Van Cortlandt, in 1701, by 
whom he had six sons and four daughters. 

His eldest son Jcremias, born 1705, died unmarried in 
1745. He had survived his father, and was consequently 
the fifth patroon. His brother Stephen (Kiliacn's second 
son) became the sixth patroon. This Stephen was born 
in 1707, and married, in 1729, Elizabeth Groesbeck. Ik- 
died in 1747, leaving a daughter, I"lizabeth, married to 
General Abraham Ten Brocck, and one son, Stephen, 



who, being a minor at his father's death, was left under 
the guardianship of his brother-in-law. General Ten 
Broeck, who managed his affairs with much judgment. 

The second Stephen \'an Rensselaer, born 1742, 
married in January, 1764, Catherine Livingston, daughter 
of Philip Livingston (signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence) and Christiana Ten Broeck. He built the 
manor-house, which was conipletetl in 1765, antl which 
he was spared to enjoy only four years, as he died of 
consumption in 1769, lea\ing two sons and one daughter. 

Stephen \'an Rensselaer, the eklest son of Stephen 
Van Rensselaer and Catherine Livingston, was born in 
1764, in the city of New York, at the house of his 
grandfather, Philip Livingston. His father having died, 
the care of his education devolved largely upon Mr. 
Li\ ingston, who placed him at school in Elizabcthtown, 
New Jersey. But the stirring times of the Re\olution 
came on, ami Mr. Li\ingston was driven with his family 
from the citv of New York, and took refuLre in Kinsjfston, 
which place possessetl a teacher of great scholarship, 
under whose care the young Stephen Van Rensselaer 
fitted himself for college. He went to Princeton, untler 
the celebrated Dr. Withcrspoon ; but at that time New 
Jersey was not safe from the incursions of the war, and 
so the young collegian was remo\ed to Harvard L'ni\er- 
sity, Cambridge. 

In 1782 he took his degree as Bachelor of Arts, and 
here it ma\- be nieiitioneil that, in iSjj, he received from 
Yale College a diploma conferring upon him the honor- 
ary degree of Doctor of Laws. Ik'fore he was twenty- 
years of age he married Margaret .Schuyler, dauL;hter of 
General Philip Sclui\ler. B)- this marriage there were 
two children: a daughter, who died in j-outh, and a son, 
Stephen. 

The patroon after his marriage devoted himself to the 
care of his estates, and shortlj' after received his first 
militar\- commission, as a major of infantry, in 1786, antl 
two years later was promoted to the commaml of a regi- 
ment. In 1 801, Governor Jay directed the cavalry of the 
Slate to be formed into a separate cor])s, diviiled from the 
infantry. Tiu- ])alroon was appointed to liic coinm.uxl 
of this dixision, with two brigatles, receiving a commis- 
sion of major-general, which he bore to his death. In 
political life he was in the Assembly or Senate from 1788 
to 1795. In this latter year he was elected lieutenant- 
governor, with John Jay as governor. He was elected 
to the same office in 1798, when he had no opposing 
candidate. 

In 1 801 , General \'an Rensselaer was nominated as can- 
ilidate for governor. With what difficult)- his accei)tance 
was finall)' obtained ap[)ears from the publications of the 
times. Mr. Clinton, who was brought forward as his op- 
posing candidate, was very ])o|)ular, antl deservedlj' so ; 
and in the midst of the campaign in this State the election 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



203 



of Mr. Jefferson to the Presidency was announced, and 
the fate of parties in this State was decided for a long 
time to come. Mr. Van Rensselaer was defeated b\- a 
small majorit)' of less than four thousand votes. It was 
at this time, when the election canvas was going on most 
actively, that the wife of his youth was called from him. 
By this marriage he had three children, two sons and 
one daughter. 

In 1802 he married again, his second wife being Cor- 
nelia Paterson, only daughter of William Paterson, one 
of the judges of the .Supreme Court of the United States, 
and the second governor of the State of New Jersey. 
In 1 8 10, General Van Rensselaer was selected as one of 
seven gentlemen appointed to explore a route for the 
great internal State improvement, the Erie Canal. After 
the war with England in 1812 this commission was re- 
sumed, and in April, 18 16, the law was passed for its 
creation. General Van Rensselaer was president of the 
board from 1824 until his death in 1839. 

In 18 1 2 the war with Great Britain was declared. A 
requisition was made on Governor Tompkins to order 
into immediate service a considerable body of New York 
militia, and the governor selected Major-General Stephen 
Van Rensselaer for the command. In one month from 
the date of the call he was at Lewiston ; and in just two 
months, on the 13th of (3ctober, he carried his victo- 
rious arms into the enemy's territory and planted the 
American flag triumphantly on the heights of Queens- 
ton. Unhappily, it was a' triumph of short duration. 
He gained a complete and glorious victory, sufficient, if 
maintained, to have secured the peninsula of Canada for 
the winter ; but it was a victory lost as soon as won, 
through the shameful cowardice and defection of his 
troops. With a mere handful of men the heights were 
carried early in the morning, under the direction of his 
aide-de-camp and cousin, the brave Colonel Solomon 
Van Rensselaer. They remained in his possession till 
late in the day, and could have been easily defended, 
but for the shameful refusal of his yeoman soldiery to 
advance farther. 

On one side. General Brock had fallen ; and on the 
other, Colonel Van Rensselaer was desperately wounded. 
The British General Sheaffe offered everything for the 
comfort of the wounded colonel. General Van Rens- 
selaer informed General Sheaffe that he should order a 
salute to be fired at his camp and at Port Niagara 
on the occasion of the funeral solemnities of the brave 
General Brock. General Sheaffe thanked him warmly. 

In 1 8 19 he was elected by the Legislature a regent of 
the State Uni\ersity, and at the time of his death he 
was its chancellor. In 1823 he first took his seat in 
Congress, and was continued there by three successive 
elections, retiring in 1829. ' In February, 1825, the cere- 
mony of an election to the Presidency took place in the 




House of Representatives. His vote determined that of 
the delegation from this State in favor of Mr. Adams, 
and produced the election of Adams on the first ballot. 

In 1824, ]ia\'ing provided a suitable building at Troy, 
Rensselaer Count}^ and employed an agent to procure 
necessary apparatus and librar}-, he requested Dr. Blatch- 
ford to act as president of a board of trustees whom 
he named to inaugurate a school " to qualif)- teachers to 
instruct the application of experimental chemistrj-, phi- 
losophy, and natural history to agriculture, domestic 
economy, and the arts and manufactures." In 1S86 this 
school was incorporated, and is now known as the Rens- 
selaer Institute. In 1828 he liberally endowed it, and 
during fourteen years sustained it at liis own e.xpense. 
After a long and useful life, honored by all who knew 
him, Stephen Van Rensselaer died at the manor-house, 
Alban}-, January 26, 1S39, leaving a widow and ten 
children. 

His son Stephen Van Rensselaer, known as " the 
young patroon," a courtl)- gentleman of the old school, 
was born in 1789, and died in 1868. He married, in 
181 7, Harriet Elizabeth Ba\ard, daughter of William 
Bayard. Their daughter, Justine, married Dr. Howard 
Townscnd, a prominent physician of Albany, New York. 

Mrs. Townsend is a representative New York woman. 
She is president of the National Society of Colonial 
Dames, and of the Colonial Dames of the State of New 
York, regent of the Mount Vernon Association, Vice- 
president of the Society of the Daughters of the Cin- 
cinnati, and one of the managers of the Burnham Farm. 
She is a woman of rare energy, wise judgment, winning 
personality, and great executive ability, a most worthy 
descendant of a race of brave men and brilliant women, 
whose names are closely identified with the history of 
New York State. 



204 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




REV. SANFORD HUNT. 

Sanford Hunt, D.D., the senior agent of tlic Method- 
ist Book Concern, one of the leadinij jjiiblishini; enter- 
prises in this countiy, was born in Erie County, New 
York, and obtained his collegiate education at Alleghany 
College, where he took a course preparatory to his entry 
upon the ministry in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and graduated in 1847 with the degree of D.I). In the 
.same year he joined the Genesee Conference, and since 
that period has labored in pastoral work within the terri- 
tory embraced b)' that conference and thai of Western 
New York. In 1.S76 he served as a delegate from the 
Western New York Conference to the General Confer- 
ence of the Methodist I-Lpiscopal Church, held in that 
year. Me is the author of a work relating to the legal 
status of churches in this country, entitled " Laws Re- 
lating to Religious Corporations." This is a compilation 
of the statutes of the several .States in relation to the 
incorjioration and maintenance of religious societies and 
the disturbance of religious meetings. It is published 
with an additional special article by the Hon. !■". L. 
I""anchcr, on the " Laws Affecting Religious Corpora- 
tions in the State of New York." Mr. ICaton has also 
written a " Hand-book for Trustees." 

Elected book-agent by the Church authorities, in a.sso- 
ciation with his able colleague. Dr. Eaton, Dr. Hunt's 
energies have of late years been given to the advance- 



ment of the interests of the great New York publishing 
house known as the Methodist Book Concern, whose 
business has largel_\- de\elopcd under the active labors 
of Dr. Eaton and himself, until now its annual distribu- 
tion of religious literature has grown to enormous pro- 
portions. 

A brief historical sketch of this important establish- 
ment, now a little more than a century old, may prove 
of interest. In 17S9 John Dickins was appointed to a 
charge in the city of Philadelphia, with the additional 
ofRce of" Bonk .Steward," a title which had been applied 
to such an office in England. He beg;ui with the small 
capital of Sf)00, borrowed for the piupose, and with this 
sum laid the foundations of a superstructure whose two 
houses, in New York and Cincinnati, are now worth 
more than $3,000,000. This is a phenomenal progress, 
a good share of which is due to the energy and efficiency 
of the present management, that of Drs. Hunt and 
Eaton, under whom the lunise has reached its highest 
degree of prosperit}-. 

The New York department of the business occupies 
magnificent cpiarters at the corner of Eifth A\enue and 
Twentieth Street, with a frontage of one lunulred and 
four feet on the avenue, and a depth of one hundred 
and twenty feet. It is eight stories high, and is fire-proof 
from cellar to roof, while the floor space, if extended 
o\er a single area, would cover more than three and a 
half acres. There could be no more striking tribute to 
the successful management nf the jHiblishing interests 
of the Church than this noble and thorougliK- adapted 
eilificc, which is completely cciuijiped in every department 
for the work to be performed, and is prepared to fmnish 
Methodist homes in all sections of the country with the 
books needeil for centre-table or librar}-, to supply all 
preachers with the te.\t-books and books of reference 
which they may desire in the pursuit of their calling, all 
Simday-schools with library-books and other necessary 
requisites, and all churches with their various records 
and books of worship. 

The business of the Book Concern has a large interest 
for every Methodist, and makes a strong appeal to their 
svrnpathies, in the fact that its dividends are p.iid to the 
worn-out preachers of the Church, so that it ser\es as 
an agency for pensioning this noble band of \cterans 
whose years and energies have been devoted to the cause 
of religion and the service of the Methodist ICpiscopal 
Church. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



205 



GEORGE S. COE. 

Geokge Simmons Coe, one of the most innuciitial 
financiers in this country, was born at Newport, Rhode 
Island, March 27, 1817. He comes from excellent Puri- 
tan New England stock, being the seventh in direct de- 
scent from John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, whose story- 
Longfellow has made historical in his poem of " Miles 
Stantlish." Mr. Coc's educational opportunities were 
limited to those offered b}' the common schools of his 
time, and he was obliged to leave these at fourteen years 
of age to engage in business, being placed in a country 
store with general duties to perform. Among these 
was the keeping of accounts, and being under a man 
of unusual skill in this direction, the boy received a 
training which proved of much advantage to him in 
later years. 

After four years thus employed, he obtained a situation 
in a neighboring bank, where his duties were little less 
various than those of the store, he beins obliged to do 
all kinds of general service. He gained, however, prac- 
tical experience in banking affairs, even if on a limited 
scale. While thus engaged, he continued to do duty in 
the store, and performed other occasional services in his 
spare hours. He also improved himself by reading and 
study as far as possible. In 1838 he gladly accepted an 
opportunity to remove to New York City and enter tlie 
banking house of Prime, Ward & King, then the largest 
in this country. After some si.x years spent here, in 
which he became a thorough banker, he removed to 
Cincinnati, and did there a limited banking and com- 
mission business, under the patronage of his late em- 
ployers. Somewhat later he returned to New York, 
became cashier of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust 
Company, and afterwards adventured in business for 
himself, as partner in a banking house already established. 

This venture proved unsuccessful, and in 1854 he ac- 
cepted the position of cashier of the American Exchange 
Hank. In a few months he was made vice-president of 
this bank, and in i860 was elected its president, an office 
which he has since continuously filled. When he entered 
that service, the Clearing House Association had been 
recently established by the banks of New York. After 
the financial panic of 1857, and during the subsequent 
monetary stringency, each of the banks was forced to 
a solitary struggle to maintain its own position, and in 
doing so drew heavily on the business community and 
on the reserve resources of other banks. In this condi- 
tion of anxiety Mr. Coe conceived the idea of combining 




the banks in the Clearing House, so that each shoidd 
report dail}' its condition, and each of temporary strength 
should come to the support of the weaker brethren. In 
this way the banks might attain equal financial strength, 
and stand or fall together. 

This simple but effective expedient was adopted, and 
proved highly successful, the banks growing able to 
maintain themselves by their mutual assistance, the 
community being relieved from its pressure, and an 
opportunity given for recovery from the financial strain. 
This was the origin of Clearing House Certificates, since 
then of such unbounded utility in cases of business 
trouble. The measure, thus suggested by Mr. Coe and 
carried out by the aid of some older and more influential 
bankers, was revived with excellent effect in 1 861, to 
enable the banks to supply the treasury demands, and 
again in the financial troubles of 1873, 1884, 1 890, and 
1893. Mr. Coe's paper on "Our Financial War Meas- 
ures," in Spaulding's " History of the Legal Tender 
Paper Money issued during the Great Rebellion," is a 
clear presentation of the subject liere mentioned, ami 
indicates his earnest efforts in the aid of the government 
at that critical time. 

Mr. Coe has taken an active interest in the National 
Bankers" Association, which he has served as presi- 
dent. He is treasurer of the Children's Aid Society, 
trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, and 
director of the Postal Telegraph Cable Company, of 
the Commercial Cable Company, and of a number of 
other corporations. 



206 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN W. HAMERSLEY. 

John William Hamerslev, born in New York City, 
May 24, 1808, was a descendant of a foiiiily lonj; promi- 
nent in the metropolis, and wlio.sc anccstr\- can be traced 
back to IIiii^o Ic Kinge, wlio removed from I'rovence, 
France, to Enghmd about 1366, and acciuired there tlie 
estate of " Ilamersley," from which tlic subsequent 
family name was derived. The American family is 
directly descended from Sir Hugh Hamerslcy, lord 
mayor of London in 1627, his great-grandson, William 
Hamersley, having migrated to New York about 17 16 
and founded the American branch of the famil)-. He 
became a successful merchant, and his descendants have 
continued wealth)- and prominent members of metro- 
politan society. 

Mr. Hamersley, second son of Lewis Carre Hamcrslc)-, 
a well-known merchant and financier of the early da)'s 
of the century, was educated at Columbia College, from 
which lie graduated in the cl.iss of 1826. He traveled 
widely after his graduation, studied law, and practiced it 
with much success, finally retiring to the enjoyment of 
a large fortune and the pursuit and encouragement of 
literature, to which his tastes particularly turned. The 
" l-'riday evening gatherings," which he established at his 
home in his later years, were uni<iue occasions in New 
York society, they bringing together celebrities of the 
most diverse character, representing art, science, and phi- 
losoph)-, law, business, military and naval affairs, etc. 
" Bantpiets worth)- of the host and of the guests" accom- 
panied these intellectual occasions, which were continued 
weekly for years. 

Mr. Hamersley was himself a conversationalist of un- 
usually fine powers, and had made a dozen visits to 
Europe and the East, thus supplying his mind with all 



that can be gained from travel and observation. He 
was witty, full of anecdote, and learned, particularly in 
history, and fully competent to take the lead in these 
periodical coiivcrsazioitcs. Captain Mayne Rcid, the well- 
known novelist of ad\enture, was one of his intimate 
friends, and made him the hero of his novel " The Lone 
Ranch," of which he presented him a copy. He was 
himself an author to some extent, publishing a \olume 
of reminiscences of Lady Hester Stanhope, and trans- 
lating from the French of Jacques Abbadie the curious 
work " A Chemical Change in the Eucharist." This 
work, one of the most powerful ever written on the sub- 
ject, has become an ecclesiastical authorit)-. 

In his )-ounger )cars Mr. ILimersley was colonel of 
one of the regiments of New York State Volunteers, 
and was always known as Colonel among his old friends. 
During his early travels he was presented at the court 
of St. James. He was, however, .strongly American in 
sentiment, and when Napoleon \\\. sought to place ^Li.xi- 
milian on the throne in Mexico, he joined with Hon. J. 
W. Beekman in giving a memorable banquet in New 
\'ork, as a demonstration of sympathy with Mexico. 
ALiU)- distinguished men attended, and speeches of much 
eloquence, inspired by the Monroe doctrine, were made. 
This demonstration had a strong influence in inducing 
Congress to recognize the Mexican republic, and as a 
conseciuence, in arousing the strong feeling before which 
Napoleon desisteil from his efforts, leaving Maximilian 
to care for himself As a reward for this service the 
Mexican minister promised Mr. Hamersley that the life 
of Maximilian should be spared. This, however, the 
Mexican government found itself unable to perform, in 
consequence of the intense popular demand for an exe- 
cution of the captive. 

In character Mr, llaniersle)- was honorable, upright, 
and dee[)l)- religious. He was warnil)- loved b)- his 
family and friends, and esteemeil by all who knew him. 
For many years he was a member of Grace Church, and 
after his death his children presented to that church a 
massive brass lectern in his memory. He was earnesti)- 
charitable, the Children's Aid Society being particularl)- 
thc recipient of his benefactions, while many other be- 
nevolent institutions found in him a liberal patron. In 
his memory a librar)- anil reading-room ha\e been built 
by his son for the benefit of the Children's .Aid .Sociel)-, 
at their countr)--seat, Bath Beach, Long Island. 

Mr. Hamcrslc)- was married to Catharine L. Hooker, 
daughter of Hon. James Hooker, of Poughkeepsie. 
Being an only child, Mrs. Hamersley inheriteil the large 
fortune of her family, consisting of extensive landed 
property and of real estate in Poughkeepsie. She was 
a woman of sterling worth and gentle manners, a true 
helpmeet to her husband, ami devoted to her children. 
Mr. Hamersley died June 7, 1889. 



MAKERS OF NEW 'YORK. 



207 



JAMES HOOKER HAMERSLEY. 

James Hooker Hamerslev, the ^n\\y son of John 
William Hamersley, a sketch of whose life we have 
given, was born in New York on January 26, 1844. In 
the sketch of his father the story of his paternal ancestry 
has been given. On his mother's side he descends from 
tlie Rev. Thomas Hooker, the founder of Connecticut, 
while his grandfather, Hon. James Hooker, of Pough- 
keepsie, w'as noted for his legal acumen as judge of the 
Surrogate's Court of Dutchess Count}-, and as one of the 
first proposers of the Hudson River Railroad, the build- 
ing of which was largely due to his persevering energy. 
Another has observed that Mr. Hamersley, through his 
mother's family, " is connected with the Reades, Living- 
stons, Stuyvesants, Beekmans, Van Cortlandts, De Pey- 
sters, and, in fine, with nearlv all the distinguished fami- 
lies of the State." 

When a boy Mr. Hamersley was placed in school in 
Paris, and had already traveled somewhat widely when 
but twelve years of age, ha\ing seen most of the capital 
cities of Europe, climbed on foot the cone of Mount 
Vesuvius, and been presented to the Pope, Pius IX. He 
was prepared for college at a school in Poughkeepsie, 
and afterwards entered Columbia College, the seat of his 
father's collegiate education. He graduated there with 
honors in the class of 1865. His whole course in college 
had been brilliant, and he was chosen, as a reward of 
ability, an orator at the commencement exercises at the 
Academy of Music, New Yorlc. 

Air. Hamersle)-'s college course was followed b\' a 
period of law study in the Columbia Law School, and 
of practical experience in the office of James W. Gerard, 
then the leader of the New York bar. On his admission 
to the bar he entered activch- into practice, and for ten 
years was successful as a lawyer, but at the end of that 
time withdrew to give iiis time to the care of the Ham- 
ersley estate and to gain time for the literary studies 
and production to which his tastes strongly inclined him. 
He is greatly interested in histoiy, and is a classical 
scholar of ability, reading his favorite ancient authors 
with ease and satisfaction in the original. As a writer 
he wields a ready and graceful pen, his occasional articles 
on the important topics of the da\- ha\ing brought him 
into notice as a thinker and reasoner. In addition to his 
prose productions he is a poet as well, and the author of 
numerous striking poems, among which ma\- be named 
"Yellow Roses," " E'og Curtain," "The Midnight Sun," 
" Ronkonkoma," " The Countersign," and " The Voice 
of the Breakers." 

Mr. Hamersley is a strong Republican in political 
sentiment, and has taken much interest in the political 
movements of his time. In 1877 he w-as elected, by the 
Independent Republicans, a delegate to the State Repub- 
lican Convention at Rochester. More recentl)- he was 




nominated for the New York Assembly b\' the Repub- 
licans of the Eleventh District, but declined to run, with- 
drawing in favor of William Waldorf Astor, in whose 
canvass he was an earnest worker. 

He is a member of numerous clubs and societies, in- 
cluding the University and the Metropolitan Clubs, the 
St. Nicholas Society, the Society of Colonial Wars, the 
City and the Badminton Clubs, of the New York Law 
Institute, and various other social and literary organi- 
zations. He is president of the Knickerbocker Bowling 
Club. He also belongs to the Geographical Society, and 
for many years served as a director of the Knickerbocker 
Fire Insurance Company, one of the oldest insurance 
concerns in this country. 

Mr. Hamersley was married in 1888 to Margaret W. 
Chisolm, daughter of William \i. Chisolm, of an old 
South Carolina family. They have had three children, 
of whom two, Catharine Livingston and Louis Gordon, 
are living. The eldest child, a daughter, died in infancy. 

Mrs. Hamersley 's mother was a daughter of John 
Rogers, a real-estate owner of New York, in whose 
memor)- his widow erected the Church of the Holy 
Communion, and donated to it the land on which it 
is built, at the corner of Twentieth Street and Sixth 
A\enue. In Mrs. Hamersley's direct line of ancestry 
is Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Speaker of the First 
House of Representatives, and brother to General Muh- 
lenberg of Revolutionary fame. She is a grandniece 
of Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, who was the 
founder of St. Luke's Hospital. Personally, Mrs. Ham- 
ersley is a woman of charming manners, quick intelli- 
gence, and great executive ability while her amiable dis- 
position makes her a general favorite in societ)^ She, in 
common with her husband, is ^varmly interested in many 
charitable and benevolent institutions. 



2o8 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




LOUIS A. SAYRH, M.D. 

Louis Alhekt Savke, a distinguished piiysician ami 
surgeon of New Yorlc, was horn at Bottk- Hill (now 
Madison), Morris Count)-, New Jerse\-, February 29, 
1820. He is descended from a Revolutionary patriot, 
his grandfatiier, Ephraim Sayre, having been a brave 
soldier in the war of the Revolution, in which he held 
the office of quartermaster. His son Archibald was a 
wealthy farmer of Morris Count}', a loader in all public 
affairs of the community. The son of the latter, Louis 
A. Sayre, when a boy of but four years of ago, was 
intrusted with the honorable task of reciting a poem of 
welcome before La Fayette, the distinguished soldier 
and friend of Washington, on his triuni])]ial tour through 
this country in 1824. This incident made a marked im- 
pression on the boy, and ho referred to it with pleasure in 
a conversation with a descendant of La Fayette, tluring 
the Bartholdi statue presentation banquet. 

Young Sayre received his early education in the local 
academy of iiis native place, and afterwards studied at 
the Wantage Seminar)-, at Deckertown, New Jersey, sub- 
sequently taking a collegiate course at the Trans)hania 
University, Kentucky. He graduated there in 1839. His 
uncle, with whom he then lived at Lexington, Kontuck)-, 
wished him to enter the Church, but the )-oinig man's 
predilection was for the profession of medicine, and, de- 
ciding to devote himself to that study, ho proceeded to 
New York, where he entered the Coliogo of Physicians 
and Surgeons, graduating in 1842 witii the ilegree of 
M.D. His graduation thesis on "Spinal Irritation" was 
published in a medical journal, and excited much atten- 
tion by the evidence of unusual ability wliich it displa)-ed. 

He continued in the college until 1852, with the posi- 
tion of prosector to the professor of surgery, engaging 
meanwhile in private practice, which grew so great at 



length that he was obliged to retire, when ho was aj)- 
pointed emeritus prosector. In the following year he was 
appointed surgeon to Bellevue Hospital, and in 1859 was 
made surgeon to the Charity Hospital on Blackwcll's 
Island, and consulting surgeon there in 1873. When 
the Bellevue Hospital Medical College was organized, in 
1861 , Dr. Sa)-re took a loading part in this movement, and 
on the formation of its faculty he was made professor of 
Orthopaedic Surger)- anti l-'racturos and Luxations. lie 
still holds the orthojiiotlic surgor)- professorship. 

Dr. Sayre was one of the founders of the Now \'ork 
Pathological Society, assisted in the formation of the 
New York Academy of Medicine and the American 
Medical Association, and was made vice-president of the 
last-named association in 1866, and its president in 1880. 
In 1 866 he was appointed resident ph)-sician of the city 
of New York, a position in which his ability and energy 
were of the utmost value to the metropolis, while his 
reports covered such important subjects as drainage, 
sewerage, compulsory \accination, and the treatment of 
cholera. In 1876, while acting as a delegate to the 
International Medical Congress, at Philadelphia, he pre- 
sented a paper on " Morbus Co.xarius," or hiji-joint dis- 
ease, the operation for which he was the first American 
surgeon to perform successfully and without resulting 
deformity. He also was successful in his treatment of 
Pott's disease and lateral curvature of the spine. 

In 1871, and again in 1S77, Dr. Sayre wont abroad, 
w hero he was received with flattering demonstrations as 
the greatest living ]iractitioner in his special field of 
surgery. He lectured before the medical schools of the 
leading British cities, and gave practical demonstrations 
of the value of his mode of treatment, receiving the 
warmest thanks of the profession. During the latter 
visit he prepared and published his important work, "An 
Illustrative Treatise on Spinal Disease and Spinal Cur- 
vature." He has also published "A Practical Manual 
of Club-Foot" and " Lectures on Orthop;edic Surgor)- 
and Diseases of the Joints." All these works are recog- 
nized authorities on their respective subjects, and ha\e 
been translated into several languages. In addition to 
these works he has written numerous papers for med- 
ical periodicals on subjects connected with his extended 
practice. He is a member of man)- medical societies of 
the United States and the leading societies abroad, and 
is the inventor of a number of instruments w liich h,i\ o 
proved of the greatest service in surgery. 

Dr. Sayre was married in 1849 to Miss Kliza A. Hall, 
a lady of rare intellectual endowments. Of his three 
sons, two have tlied. The third son. Dr. Reginald Hall 
Sayre, is associated with him in practice. His daughter, 
Miss Mary Hall Sayre, is a brilliant and accomplished 
lad)-, who aitls her father groatl)- b)- translating for his 
use articles from foreign medical journals. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



209 



DORMAN B. EATON. 

DoRMAN Briiigaian Eaton, civil service reformer and 
legal author, was born at Hardwick, Vermont, Jime 27, 
1823, his father being Hon. Nathaniel Eaton, a prominent 
Vermonter of that period. He was educated in the Uni- 
versity of Vermont, graduating in 1848, and in 1850 
graduated from the Har\ard Law School, taking the 
principal prize for a legal essa}'. He was soon after 
admitted to the bar in New York City, and in a short 
time entered into partnership with Judge William Kent, 
whom he assisted in editing Kent's " Commentaries." 
He edited also " Chipman on Contracts," and enjoyed a 
successful practice before the New York bar for many 
years. In 1865 he took an active part in the prepara- 
tion and passage of the bill for a paid fire department. 
In 1882 he delivered a commencement address before 
the Yale Law School, and was afterwards given the 
degree of LL.D. by his d/iiia vtatcr. 

In 1866 Mr. E^aton first came prominently forward as a 
reformer, draughting the law which created the New York- 
Board of Health. In the following year he draughted 
the sanitary code of the city, and subsequently^ draughted 
the law for the organization of the police courts of New 
York City. He was a member of the Union League 
Club, and was made chairman of its committee on polit- 
ical reform, a chair which he held for many years. 

Mr. Eaton's special interest in civil service reform 
began in 1870, in which year he went to lunope, where 
he remained till 1S73, giving while there special atten- 
tion to the systems of civil service in Great Britain and 
several other European countries. L'pon his return 
to this country he was appointed by President Grant a 
member of the Civil Service Commission, to succeed G. 
W. Curtis, who had resigned, and on the reorganization 
of the commission was made its chairman. 

In 1877, with the approval of President Hayes, Mr. 
Eaton returned to Plurope, with the express purpose of 
resuming his studies of the civil ser\ice system of Great 
Britain for the information o{ the commission. The 
result of his observations was given in a volume pub- 
lished by Congress, and also by Harper & Brothers. 
The Ci\'il Service Law passed in 1883, under which the 
National Civil Service Commission was organized, was 
draughted by him, and he was the first commissioner 
appointed by President Arthur under this act. From 
that time to this Mr. Eaton has remained closely con- 
nected with civil service reform, whose state of advance- 
ment to-day is largely due to his efforts, and he will un- 




doubtedly long be given the credit of being the first to 
assail in a practical manner the long-pre\alent spoils sys- 
tem in American politics. 

Mr. Eaton's efforts in favor of reform have not been 
confined to committee work. He has sustained his views 
before the country in keen and logical articles in the 
North American Rcvici^\ whicli are written in a flowing 
but vigorous style, and have greatly aided in dissemi- 
nating the principles of the reform. He has contributed 
manv other articles on the same general subject to peri- 
odicals, including " The Independent Movement in New 
York — 1880," "Civil Service Reform in Great Britain — 
18S0," "The Spoils System and Civil Service Reform in 
the New York Custom-House and Post-Office," " The 
Term and Tenure of Office," and " Secret Sessions of 
the United States Senate." He is also the author of a 
number of articles relating to administrative reform and 
some other subjects in Lalor's " Cyclopaedia of Political 
Science." Among his various ser\ices in legal reform 
was the draughting, in 1874, at the request of a joint 
committee of both Houses of Congress, of a code of 
laws for the government of the District of Columbia. 

In addition to the L^nion League, above named, Mr. 
Eaton is a member of numerous clubs and associations, 
including the Century, Commonwealth, City Reform, 
Unitarian, and XIX. Century Clubs, the Bar Associa- 
tion, Citizens' Municipal League, Civil Service Reform 
and Excise Reform Associations of New York, and of 
the Reform Club of Boston. 



210 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




RIGHT Ri;V. ABRAM N. 1.1 1" ri.i;j( )11N. 

Abkam Newkirk Littlkiohn, 1)1)., 1.1,1)., bishop 
of the Protestant Epi.scopal diocese of Loni; Island, was 
born in Montgomery Count)-, New York, December 13, 
1824. After a preliminary education at liDnie he eiitereil 
Union College in 1841, and graduated tl)ere with lu)nors 
in 1845. Having decided to enter the Church, he now 
took a course of theological study, and in 1848 was or- 
dained deacon by Bishop De Lancey, of the diocese of 
Western New York. Immediately afterwards he began 
his clerical career at St. Ann's Church, Amsterdam, New 
York, and after a year remo\ed to a church at Meriden, 
Connecticut, wliere he remaineil ten months. 

Mr. Littlejohn's unusual abilit\- as an orator had 1)\- 
this time grown so well known thai iinpoilant cit)- 
churches began to seek liis services, and in Jul)', 185 i, he 
succeeded Rev. Samuel Cooke as rector of St. Paul's 
Church, New Haven. Here his influence soon became 
widely felt, his broad scholarship and his sympathy with 
progress and with intellectual culture attracting large 
numbers of the best element of the city to his ministra- 
tions. His ability as a writer and s])eaker were also so 
declared that his reputation spread far bej'ond the limits 
of the city of his pastoral charge. In 1853 he was in- 
vited to give the opening lecture of a course in Philadel- 
phia on theological topics by P^jiscopal bishops and 
clergymen. His subject, " The Philosoph)- of Religicjn," 
was handled with masterly ability, and the full course 
was subsequently published, with an introductoiy e.s.say 
by Bishop Alonzo Potter. 

During his residence in New Haven, l)i. l.iltlejohn 
served as lecturer in jiastoral theology at the Berkeley- 
Divinity School, Middlctown, Connecticut. In 1856 the 
University of Pennsylvania conferred on him the hono- 



rary degree of D.D., and in 1858 he \vas unaniniousl)- 
elected president of Hobart College, Geneva, New York, 
an honor which he declined. He remained in New 
Haven till i860, when he received a call to the rector- 
ship of the Church of the Holy Trinit}-, in Brooklyn. 

The position thus offered him was one not to be ac- 
cepted lightly. The churcli was a magnificent edifice, 
but was burdened with a heavy debt, while it was still 
incomplete. The young rector, however, saw the prom- 
ise of a splendid future in the church, accepted the call, 
and threw himself into the work before him with a spirit 
and enthusiasm which coukl hardh- fail of success, while 
the fer\or and eloquence of his preaching rapidh- in- 
creasctl the numbers of the congregation. By 1863 
$20,000 of the debt had been jiaid, when, the income of 
the church having grown in excess of its expenses, he 
established a sinking fund, which has greatly diminished 
and will soon obliterate the original debt. 

In addition to this home duty, the church has estab- 
lished subordinate institution.s — a free chapel, a school, 
etc. — elsewhere in the city, and has erected a church 
edifice named after itself in Belle\ue, Nebraska. \\Trious 
local church societies have also been largel)' aided, as the 
Church Orphan As\-lum, the Home for Aged Women, ■ 
and various other charitable institutions. In aiKlilion to 
the cares of his parish, which were large and onerous, 
Mr. Littlejolin has been prominently connected with the 
missionars' and other work of the Church, being a mem- 
ber of numerous societies connected therewith. He has 
also been a contributor to the American Quarterly Church 
RevieiK', in which he has ably reviewed a number of im- 
[xirtant historical and other works, while he has published 
man\' of his own tliscourses. During his connection 
with the lIol\- Trinity he completed it b\- the erection 
of a spire, which towers in height far abo\e any other 
spire in New York or l?rookl\-n. I'or this he raiseil 
the sum of S55,ooo. During his eight )-ears" rector- 
ship in the church the total amount subscribed, for be- 
nevolent and other |)urposes, is saiil to have aniounteil 
to S26o,000. 

In 1868 it was decided by the General Convention to 
form three more dioceses in the State of New York. 
Dr. Littlejolin was elected bishop by two of these, those 
of Central New York and of Long Island. He chose 
the latter, and was ordained bishop January 27, 1869. 
Since then he has admittetl to the communion of the 
Church over twenty thousand persons, has ordained more 
than one hundred clergymen, consecrated a large number 
of cluirches, and performed much other important work. 
In 1872 he was ajipointed bishop in charge of all Prot- 
estant Episcopal Churches on the continent of Europe, 
which appointment he has held ever since, being obliged 
to make an official \isitation abroad e\er\' two or three 
)'ears. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



211 



STEPHEN V. WHITE. 

Stephen Van Cullen White was born in Chatham 
County, North Carolina, August i, 1831, the son of 
Hiram White, a member of an old Quaker family of 
Chester County, PcnnsyKania, which had remo\-ed to 
North Carolina shorth^ after the Revolution. His 
iiiuthcr was Julia Brewer, of a North Carolina faniih' of 
much rcspectabilit}', and a lineal descendant of r)li\-er 
Cromwell, the Lord Protector of Great Britain. Hiram 
White, educated in strong sentiments against human 
slavery, refused to enforce the harsh decrees passed 
against the negroes at the time of the noted Nat Turner 
insurrection, and was forced to lea\e the State when his 
son was an infant not two montiis old. 

He made his way with his famil}- in a covered wagon 
to Greene (now Jersey) County, Illinois, near the mouth 
of the Illinois River. Here he became a farmer and 
miller, the boy, as he grew to proper age, working on 
tlie farm and in the mill of his father, and attending 
school at intervals. The first money made by the grow- 
ing lad was gained by trapping, the furs taken being sold 
to the American Fur Company. In 1849 he was entered 
at the preparatory school of Kno.x College, and gradu- 
ated from the college in 1854, teaching school mean- 
while to help pay his expenses. After his graduation 
he became a book-keeper for Claflin, Allen, & Stinde, a 
St. Louis firm, with whom he remained a year, and then 
began the study of law w ith the legal firm of Brown & 
Kasson. While thus engaged he wrote editorials and 
reviews for the Missouri Democrat. 

Mr. White was admitted to the bar of Missouri in 
1856, and in the ne.Nt year located himself at Des 
Moines, Iowa, soon after the capital of the State. Here 
business quickly came to him, his abilit}' gaining him 
many clients. He remained here for the succeeding 
nine )-ears, during which he tried many important cases, 
in particular that of Gelpke vs. Dubuque, argued in De- 
cember, 1863, before the United States Supreme Court, 
in which he obtained a reversal of the decision of the 
Iowa courts, and secured to in\'estors many millions of 
repudiated municipal bonds. In 1864 he ser\ed for a 
time as acting United States district attorney for Iowa, 
the incumbent being ill. 

There was before him the promise of an unusually 
brilliant legal career, yet in January, 1865, he suddenly 
ga\e it up, removed to New York, and entered into the 
banking business with Captain Charles B. Marvin, under 
the firm-name of Marvin & White. This association 
continued until 1867, when Captain Marvin withdrew, 
Mr. White continuing alone till 1882, when the firm of 
S. V. White & Co. was formed. This firm continued, 
with modifications in its membership, until 1891, when it 
came to an end in a somewhat disastrous manner. Mr. 




White, who had been l)rilliantly successful as an opera- 
tor, attempted in this year to control the corn market of 
the country, but failed through the misuse of his money 
by his broker, and instead of the millions which he 
hoped to make, failed so badly that he found himself a 
million dollars in debt. 

A remarkable result followed. By the rules of the 
Stock Ex'change he could not hokl membership while 
he had a legal obligation outstanding. In this emer- 
gency his three huniired creditors wai\ed their claims, 
with sole reliance on his word of honor to pa\' them 
when he could. Their unusual confidence was not mis- 
placed. Borrowing S50,000 from some trusting friends, 
Mr. White went upon the floor of the Exchange again, 
and with the most surprising success. Everything he 
touched seemed to turn to gold. His progress was 
steadily upward. As fast as he made money he trans- 
mitted it to the most needy creditors, and within the 
brief space of eleven months he had paid off the entire 
million dollars of debt, and was soundly established in 
business again. It was an event probably without par- 
allel in the history of speculation, and could onl)' have 
been obtained by a man of Mr. WTiite's ability and recog- 
nized business probity. 

For more than twenty-five years Mr. White has been 
a trustee and the treasurer of Plymouth Church. As 
another evidence of the confidence felt in him, his 
church associates re-elected him to the post of treas- 
urer immediately after the announcement of the failure. 
In politics he has been a Republican since the Fremont 
campaign of 1856. He was elected to Congress in 
1866, for the Third Congressional District of New 
York, and served with distinction, but declined a prof- 
fered renomination. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ELBRIUGH T. GHRRY. 

Elbridge Thomas Gekkv, born in New York City, 
December 25, 1837, is the son of Thomas R. Gerry, and 
grandson of Elbridge Gerry, a man of the highest note 
in tlic early history of the United States, having been 
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, 
Governor of Massachusetts, and Vice-President of the 
United States. The father of this distinguished Ameri- 
can, Thomas Gerr)', the first of the family in this coiintr\-, 
came to America in 173O, antl lived as a merchant in 
Marblehead, Massachusetts. Mr. Gerr)''s father was a 
naval officer, who died when his son was but seven }i;us 
of age. 

The son, unticr his mother's care, was carefully etlu- 
catcd, receiving his college course at Columbia College, 
where he graduated in 1857, delivering the (ierman salu- 
tatory oration on that occasion. Within the same year 
he was elected [jresident of the Philole.xian Societ)' of 
tlic college. Me subsequently studied law in the office 
of William Curtis Noyes, was admitted to the bar in 
1866, and immediately afterwards was admitted to prac- 
tice in tile Supreme Court of the United States. Shortly 
after his admission he formed a legal partnershi]) with his 
former |)rece|)tor, Mr. Noyes, and u|)on tlie death of the 
latter entered into partnershij) with Hon. William !•". 
Allen, judge of the New York Court of Appeals, aiul 
Henjamin V. Abbott, a well-known legal author. ICvent- 
ually Judge Allen withdrew, anil the firm was afterwards 
continued un<ler the name of Abbott & Gerrv. In his 



legal business Mr. Gerry obtained an extensive practice, 
and took part in many important cases, both civil and 
criminal. 1 le aided in defending McFarland, on trial for 
homicide, conducted some notable will cases, and was 
concerned in other trials of leading importance. 

In 1S67 Mr. Gerry was elected a member of the con- 
stitutional con\'cntion of New York .State, and was on its 
committee on the [)ardoning power. He has since then 
been \er}- acti\e in humane work, into which he entereil 
earnestly in connection with the American Societ)- for 
the Prevention of Cruelt)' to Animals, after its formation 
by Henry Bergh. He co-operated warmly with Mr. 
Bergh in the work of this society, and to his efforts most 
of the legislation affecting animals in New York law is 
chiefly due. 

On the subseciuenl foiination of the Societ}' for the 
Prevention of Cruclt\- to Children, Mr. Gerr\' enteietl 
heartiK' into the work. This societ)-, indeed, which be- 
gan in 1874, was the result of his efforts, and since 1879 
he has acted as its president, and has won a national repu- 
tation through his incessant efforts in its behalf During 
the existence of this society it has investigated the cases 
of more than two hundred thousand children, and res- 
cued more than forty thousand from neglect and destitu- 
tion, or from vicious surroundings, and placed them in 
moral and comfortalile homes. Through the example 
ant! encouragement of the New York Society nearly two 
lunulred similar associations ha\e been formed in the 
United States and a large number in foreign countries. 

In 1886 Mr. Gerr)- was ajipointed b)- the State Senate, 
in association with Hon. Matthew Hale and Dr. A. P. 
-Southwick, to consider the most humane and effective 
method of executing criminals sentenced to death. As a 
consequence of the repoil of this conniiissioii, the State 
of New ^'ork adoi)ted its present s)-stem of electrical 
execution in ]ilace of the old s)-stem of hanging. Since 
1.SS5 Mr. Geri)- has jjcen a governor of the New York 
Hospital; in i<S.S(j he served as chairman of the Ivxecu- 
tive Connnittee of the centennial celebration ; and in 1892 
was chairman of the commission to consider the be.st 
method of caring for the insane of New York Citj'. The 
conmiission pre])ared a valuable report. He is a trustee 
of the Protestant Episco|)al General Theological Semi- 
nary, and from 1885 to 1892 acted as commotlore of the 
New York Yacht Club. He was married in 1867 to 
Louisa M. Livingston, graniklaughter of Morgan Lewis, 
former Governor of New York and Grand Master of the 
Masonic fiaternitx'. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



213 



JOHN ANDERSON. 

John Anderson, the millionaire tobacconist, was the 
son of William Anderson, who came from England to 
this country early in the present century, his immigration 
being due to Robert Fulton, the celebrated in\entor of 
the steamboat. He became an earnest and patriotic 
American, took part on the side of his adopted country 
in the second war with Great Britain, and fell in battle, 
as an officer, in the year 1812. His son John was born 
shortly after his death. 

Deprived of paternal care, the son, as soon as of suffi- 
cient age to engage in the struggle of life, began a career 
which proved quickly successful, and rapidly led to for- 
tune. The business into which he entered was that of 
tobacco dealer antl manufacturer, and his history as a 
merchant presents no salient points on which we need to 
dwell, other tiian to say that he won honor and respect 
among his fellow-merchants of New York, and e\'entuall\- 
retired from business as one of the millionaires of the 
metropolis, and as one of the liberal supporters of art, 
science, and humanity. 

Among his intimate friends must particularly be men- 
tioned the famous Italian patriot Garibaldi, who had 
come to this country as an e.xile from his native land. 
Here he was forced to labor for his daily bread, but found 
in Mr. Anderson a warm and appreciative friend, who did 
much to assist him, and earnesth' encouraged his patriotic 
views. In i860, the year in w Inch our own civil war was 
impending, the struggle for libert)- began in Ital_\-, and 
Garibaldi, gladly hearing the news of the patriotic up- 
rising, was quickly upon the ocean on his return to his 
native land. His fellow-piitriot Avezzana, who was pre- 
vented from accompanying him by the fact of his having 
here a wife and children, was liberally aided by Mr. An- 
derson, and enabled to join his chief and engage with him 
in the great struggle for Italian liberty. A great sympa- 
thetic meeting of the citizens of New York was called, 
and an address to the people of Italy prepared, under 
the supervision of Mr. Anderson, whose earnest tones 
warmed the hearts of the friends of liberty in all lands. 

Mr. Anderson was as warmly interested in the defense 
of his native land against rebellion as he had been in the 
liberation of Italy from tyranny. In the earl}- days of 
the war, when the State proposed to raise a fund for the 
families of drafted men by the issue of bonds, and its 
legal right to do so was questioned, Mr. Anderson 
solved the difficulty by immediately heading the sub- 
scription, an example which quickly brought in the 
requisite funds. Later, when Jersey City found itself 
unable to provide, in a legal manner, for putting its 
contingent into the field, Mr. Anderson cut this knot 
also by sending to the ma}'or a gift of $60,000, a sum 




which fully sufficed to send the regiments on their way 
to the seat of war. 

In 1870, Mr. Anderson, ha\-ing retired from business, 
went to Europe with his wife, and while there had the 
pleasure of meeting again his old friends, visiting Avez- 
zana, then residing in Florence, and remaining for a time 
as the guest of Garibaldi in his island home. On his 
return to New York he purchased a tract of land at 
Tarrytown, and built there the handsome brick mansion 
which remained his home during the rest of his life. This 
beautifully situated dwelling, with its well-kept grounds, 
is among the ornaments of that locality. 

In 1873, Professor Louis Agassiz, who desired to estab- 
lish a school for the instruction of teaciiers in natural 
history, applied to the Legislature of Massachusetts for a 
grant of money for that purpose. His appeal failed, but 
when the news of the failure of this highly worthy 
project came to the attention of Mr. Anderson, he im- 
mediately resolved to furnish the desired sum. The well- 
situated and beautiful island of Penikese was placed by 
him at the service of the great naturalist, and with it the 
sum of 550,000 as an endowment for the proposed school, 
to which was justly given the title of "The Anderson 
School of Natural Historj-." 

Mr. Anderson was twice married. By his first wife he 
had six children. His second wife was a descendant of the 
same family as Washington Irving, and had one son by 
a former marriage, Stanley Conner, a well-known sculp- 
tor. In the fall of 1880 Mr. Anderson made another 
visit to Europe, intending again to visit his old friend, the 
liberator of Ital)-. But soon after reaching Paris he was 
taken suddenl)- ill, and died there on the 22d of Novem- 
ber. His remains were brought home and interred in the 
family tomb at Greenwood. 



28 



214 



.VAKFRS OF NEW YORK. 




FREDERICK T. IRHI.INGHUYSEN. 

Frederick T. Fkelinchlvsicn, lioin at Millstone, 
Somerset County, New Jersey, August 4, 1817, was a 
descendant of the Rev. Thcodorus Jacobus Frelingluiy- 
sen, wlio emigrated fmiii ni)llaiKl in 1720 to take charge 
of the Dutch Cliurch of New Brunswick, New Jersey. 
He was a man of marked powers, " one of the greatest 
divines of the American Church," a speaker of great 
eloquence, and a writer of distinguisheil ability. His 
grandson. General Frederick Frclinghuj-sen, serveil as a 
general in the Revolutionary War, and held important 
political positions. Frederick Frelinghuysen, his son, 
and father of the subject of this sketch, was a brilliant 
lawyer and orator, who married Jane Dumont, a woman 
of French extraction, and of great renneiiicnt and artis- 
tic and literary culture. 

Mr. Frelinghu)-scn lost his father while \<iung, anil 
was brought up and educated by his uncle, Theodore 
Frelinglui\-seii, a resident of Newark, New Jersey. He 
studied first at the Newark Academy, and afterwards at 
Rutgers College, from which he graduated in 1836, 
immediately afterwards entering upon the study of law 
in his uncle's office. He was admitted to the bar in 1839. 

Mr. Frelinghuysen's legal practice began in Newark, 
where he was soon appointed corporation attorney, and 
afterwards became a member of the City Council. His 
law business soon became large anil profitable, his prac- 
tice covering both civil and criminal law. Among his 
clients was the Morris Canal and Hanking Company, 
while for many years he acted as counsel for the Central 
Railroad of New Jersey. 

Politically, Mr. Frelinghuysen was a member of the 



Whig party, in whose doings he took much interest, and 
frequently addressed large meetings. When, in 1S61, 
a Peace Congress was held in Washington, with the pur- 
pose of seeking to reconcile the North and South ami 
prevent the impending war, he ser\ed as a member, anil 
sought earnestly to bring about this desirable conclusion. 
The Congress proved futile, and he returned ImnK- 
convinced that war was inevitable, and thenceforward 
continued a stanch Republican in politics. 

For a number of years succeeding, Mr. Frelinghu\sen 
served as attorney-general of New Jersey, being three 
times appointed to this office. His record in this field of 
duty was of the most successful character, his labors 
being rendered difficult on account of the issues raised 
by the war. He was frcquenth' called upon to address 
meetings on war topics, and proved an unflinching friend 
of the administration. In 1866, soon after his third 
appointment as attorney-general, he was appointed b)- 
the Governor of New Jersey United States Senator to fill 
a vacancy caused by the death of Senator Wright. The 
term expired in 1869, when, the Legislature being Demo- 
cratic, lie was not returned. In 1870 he was nominated 
by President Grant, and confirmed by the Senate, United 
States minister to England. This official position he 
declined. In 1871 he was elected to the Senate, the 
Legislature now being Republican. 

As Senator he served on several important committees, 
and advocated various useful measures, among them the 
purchase of Ala.ska, a bill to restore a gold currency, the 
civil rights bill, and others. He took part in the recon- 
struction of the .Southern States, and their readmission 
to the I'niiin with aj^proved constitutions, and was a 
member of the I'-lcctoral Commission to count the Presi- 
dential vote in 1 S76. When Presiilent Aitlini' fmnied 
his Cabinet, Mr. Frelinghu\-sen was offered the ajjpoint- 
ment of Secretary of State, which was immediately con- 
firmed by the Senate. He entered upon the duties of 
this office in December, 1881, and continued in it till the 
end of the Arthur administration, in March, 1S85. He 
returned home seriously ill, and died May 20, 1885. 

In the duties of this high office Mr. Frelinghuy.sen 
was pacific in policy, yet careful of the honor of the 
countrj'. His letters on the Clayton-Rulwcr Treaty are 
especially able, while he advocated the Nicaraguan 
Canal Treaty, and drew up the Reciprocit_\- Treaty with 
Spain, which has served as a model for later reciprocity 
treaties. Throughout life he adhered ti> the fiith of his 
ancestors, being a member of the Dutch Reformed 
Church. The Sunday-.school was under his particular 
care, while at tlie time of his death he was president of 
the American Hible Society. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



215 



THOMAS C. CORNELL. 

Thomas Clapp Cornell, president of the Yonkers 
Gas Company, is a descendant of an old colonial family, 
which settled in Scarsdale, Westchester County, in 1727. 
He was born at Flushing, Queens County, Long Island, 
January' 7, i8ig, his parents at that time having there a 
boarding-school for girls. His father, Silas Cornell, was 
born at that place in 17S9, while his mother, Sarah Mott, 
was born at North Hempstead, in tlie old Mott mansion, 
which has been in the possession of her family for a 
luuulred years preceding. For many generations be- 
fore his birth both branches of his ancestry had been 
among the leading Quaker inhabitants of that section 
of the country. 

In 1823 Silas Cornell left his ancestral place to occupy 
a farm near Rochester, New York, and here his son 
Thomas, occupied during the busy season in farm duties, 
obtained his little schooling during the winter months. 
His schooling, in its whole e.xtent, was comprised within 
less than three years, and ended before he was twelve 
years old. This meagre opportunity for education was 
at a little school kept by his father. He had, ho\ve\er, 
a desire for education, and kept up his studies in the 
hours snatched from his daih' toil, studying Latin, Greek, 
or mathematics for an hour or two before breakfast. He 
was donig a man's work in the fields when only fifteen 
years of age. 

His father became the survej-or of the district, and in 
1836 removed to Rochester. Tliomas was here em- 
ployed as his principal assistant, and in 1840, after 
coming of age, entered the State engineer department on 
the Erie Canal enlargement, with charge of the work 
on the locks at Lockport. From 1844 to 1846 he was 
emplo)-ed by the Canadian government, on the Lachine 
Canal near Montreal, and in the office of engineer of the 
Provincial Board of Public Works. Early in the year 
1846 he went to Europe, where he spent a year and a 
half in travel through its western countries, associating 
while there solely with the natives, with whom he spoke 
in their own tongues. 

Mr. Cornell returned to America towards the end of 
1847, and at once obtained employment in the work of 
construction of the Hudson River Railroad, being assist- 
ant engineer on the section from Spuyten Duyvil to 
Dobbs Ferry. His section of the road passed through 
the hamlet of Yonkers, then a small settlement, and 
here, on the completion of his work, he decided to re- 
main. His knowledge of surve\'ing served him now in 
good stead, and for years he did nearly all the surve)"- 
ing and engineering of the district, while occasionally 
called upon to do duty as architect. In 1854 he took 




an active part in the founding of the Yonkers Gas-light 
Company, with which he has since that period remained 
associated. In 1857 he was elected president of the com- 
pan}', and in t86o its treasurer, both of which positions 
he has continued to hold. 

Since 1856 Mr. Coinell has been a director of the 
bank of Yonkers, now the First National Bank, and for 
many years served as trustee of the Yonkers Savings 
Bank, and chairman of its finance committee; from 
which he finally retired, on the plea of having done his 
share of the work. He was also one of the founders of 
the Yonkers and New York Fire Insurance Company, 
and a director in it from 1863 to 1 87 1, when the great 
fire in Chicago caused its dissolution. In 1852 he pro- 
posed and aided in founding the first newspaper in Yon- 
kers, the Herald (now the Gazette). Some years later, 
the Herald ha\ing become hostile to him and his friends, 
he took part in founding the Examiner (now the States- 
iiinii), to whose columns he has frequently contributed. 

Politically, Mr. Cornell was brought up a Whig, but 
was always an Abolitionist in sentiment, and on' the for- 
mation of the Republican party was one of the first to 
take steps for its organization in Yonkers, immediately 
after the nomination of Fremont. He has continued a 
member of the part)', but has never held any political 
office, his only official position being that of school 
trustee. He became a member of the Union League 
Club of New York in 1870. While in Europe, in 1847, 
Mr. Cornell joined the Roman Catholic Church, of which 
he continues a zealous member, and has borne an active 
part in advancement of the interests of that Church in 
Yonkers. He is married, but has\io surviving children. 



2l6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




J. EDWARD SIMMONS. 

J. Edward Simmons, late president of the New York 
Board of Education, was born in Troy, New York, in 
1 84 1, being descended from ancestry of distinction in the 
liistory of our country. His grcat-<;randfather, who came 
from Holland in the early part of the last century, fought 
on the side of libert)- in the War of the Revolution, a 
patriotic service in which he was emulated by one of Mr. 
Simmons's maternal great-grandfathers. 

Mr. .Simmons received his elementary education in 
Troy, and in 1858 entered Williams College, where he 
graduated in 1S62. He then entered upon the study of 
law in the Albany Law School, in which he received the 
degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1863, and in the same 
year was admitted to the bar. He immediately began 
legal practice in Troy, remaining there until 1867, when 
lie made his way to New York City, and engaged there 
in the business of banking and brokerage. In 1872 ill 
licalth forced him to retire from business, and he spent a 
period of rest and recuperation in Florida. He resumed 
his business on Wall Street in 1S74. 

During the succeeding ten j-ears Mr. Simmons con- 
tinued actively engaged in business, and won such a 
record among his fellow-brokers for ability, integrity, and 
s-trict honor in his dealings, that on June 2, 1884, he was 
elected president of the Stock Ivxchange. It was a period 
ill which a strong and skillful hanil was needed at the 
helm. The previous president of the Exchange, who had 
been recently elected, had become disqualified through 
the failure of his firm, and the financial business of the 
country was passing through conditions which threatened 
to end in disastrous results. In this crisis it was a matter 
of great importance to have a man of the highest capa- 



bility at the head of the Exchange, and most of his 
fellow-members turned to Mr. Simmons as the man for 
the hour. He was elected by an unusually large majority, 
confidence was restored, and the following year he was 
unanimously re-elected. A third term was offered him, 
but he declined renomination, as he has se\-eral times de- 
clined nomination to other important offices where elec- 
tion was sure, — amon;^ them that of mayor of New York. 

Politically Mr. Simmons is a Democrat, but is in no 
sense a local partisan or a follower of Tamm.any. His 
Democracy is too broad and patriotic to be held to parti- 
san issues, but is of that nobler stamp which has given 
the party its high standing in American history. He has 
rendered his party important assistance in Presidential 
and other leading contests, and in 1885, after the election 
of Cleveland to the Presidenc)', his name was [jroposcd 
by Samuel J. Tiklcn and other ]5art\- leaders, without 
consulting him, for the position of collector of the jxirt 
of New York. On learning what was afoot, he immedi- 
atel_\- ilcclincd the honor, and so decisively that the cflTort 
for his nomination was dropped. Having thus refused 
to accept a post carrying large patronage and emolu- 
ments, he cheerfully accepted one without salary, though 
certainly not without honor, that of president of the 
Board of Education, to which he was elected in 1886, 
on his return from luuope. He had been ai)pointeil 
commissioner of the board in 1S81, and ser\cd as its 
president for nine years. Man\- beneficial changes were 
made in the school system during his incumbency. In 
1888, mainlv through his iiilluence, the Legislature pa.s.sed 
a bill conferring collegiate rank and powers on the New 
York Normal College, and he also took the deepest inter- 
est in the College of New York, working successfull)- 
for its development. During his absence in Europe his 
name was strongly advocatetl by the business men of the 
city for the office of mayor, an honor which he declined. 

In 1888 he was maile president of the I'ourth National 
Bank, desi)ite the fact that he owned no stock in the 
bank, and had no personal ac(|uaintance with any of its 
directors. Yet they chose wisely in nnaiiiniousl\- elect- 
ing him, for the bank has prospered under his manage- 
ment. He served also as receiver of the American 
Loan and Trust Company of New York, a responsible 
dut)- which he discharged to the satisfaction of all con- 
cerned. 

Mr. Simmons is of hiL;h rank in the Masonic Order, 
and is a member of numerous clubs and societies of New 
York. In 1888 he was given the degree of LL.D. by 
the University of Norwich, Vermont. He possesses a 
charming summer resilience near Lake George, known 
as the " Stag's Head," where his seasons of leisure are 
passed. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



217 



CHRISTOPHER C. BALDWIN. 

Christopher Columbus Baldwin is a native of Anne 
Arundel County, Maryland, where his father, who had 
served as a naval officer in the War of 181 2 on the 
" Boxer" and the " Peacock," possessed a plantation. 
During the war he took part in many naval engagements, 
and was voted a sword by Congress for his gallantry 
during the fight between the " Peacock" and the " I'.per- 
vier." After the war he married Mary Woodward, a 
woman of highly amiable character, and spent the re- 
mainder of his life in the care of his plantation. 

Their son Christopher — one of eleven children — was 
educated in the local schools, and afterwards entered a 
mercantile house in Baltimore, where he advanced rapidly 
in position. On the outbreak of the civil war he was 
sent by the firm of Woodward, Baldwin & Co., in which 
his brother was a partner, into the seceding States to 
collect debts due the firm. In this he was entirely suc- 
cessful, collecting the entire indebtedness, and running 
the blockade twice in so doing. At his suggestion this 
firm, near the end of the war, opened a branch in New 
York, which still continues, under the name of Wood- 
ward, Baldwin & Co., one of the leading houses on 
Worth Street. He became a partner in this firm, and 
for many years was its senior partner, its high position 
in the commercial world being piincipally due to his 
efforts and ability. 

He entered into a new field of acti\ity about 1880, 
when he was elected president of the Louisville and 
Nashville Railroad Company. His former business e.x- 
perience had made him thoroughl)' acquainted with the 
South and its people, and adapted him for this post. 
Under his presidency the road made rapid progress, 
auxiliary roads were purchased, and the foundations of 
the present system were laid. The finances, which were 
in a low state, improved greatly under his management, 
and by a single transaction he saved the company more 
than $2,000,000. He resigned the presidency in 1S84, 
leaving the road greatly increased in extent, and in a far 
more stable condition than that in which he found it. 
Since then lie has been connected with nther railroad 
enterprises and large financial undertakings, in all of 
w hich he has displaj'ed a business energy and integrity 
that ha\e inured to the ad\-antage of e\-ery affair with 
which he has been concerned. He is an officer in 
numerous banks, insurance companies, trust companies, 
and other corporations ; among them the New York Life 
Insurance Company, the Manhattan Trust Company, and 
the New York Security and Trust Company. 




In January-, 1884, he was appointed b}- Governor 
Cleveland commissioner in cliarge of the construction 
of the new Croton Aqueduct. His appointment to this 
post occasioned some surprise, as lie had mingled but 
little in politics, and was then engaged as president of 
the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. But it met with 
general approval, and his management of the work won 
him the highest commendation. 

The most important political contest in which Mr. 
Baldwin took part was the campaign of General Han- 
cock for the Presidency. In this he worked earnestly, 
and after Hancock's defeat he called a meeting at the 
Brunswick Hotel, at which a committee of one hundred 
was appointed and the Count)' Democracy organized. 
In truth, although he had voted with Tammany Hall^ 
he opposed its methods when these seemed to interfere 
with the freedom of suffiage of the voter, and in con- 
sequence has been antagonistic to it in its every recent 
campaign. He has shown no ambition for political posi- 
tion, and has several times refused nominations for city 
offices and for Congress. 

Some time after he settled in New York he married 
Miss Roman, of Hagerstown, Maryland, who died early, 
leaving him a famil)- of two sons and one daughter. He 
has presented to Hagerstown, as a memorial to her, a 
spire and tower to St. John's l^piscopal Church, one of 
the finest pieces of ecclesiastic architecture in the State. 
Mr. Baldwin is vice-president of the Manhattan Club, 
and is connected with other social and political institu- 
tions of the city. 



2l8 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




PKRRY BF.LMONT. 

Pekrv Bei.mont, eldest son of August Belmont, the 
renowned financier, a sketch of wliose life wc have 
elsewhere given, was born in the city of New York, 
December 28, 1851. His name of Perry came from 
tiiat of his grandfather on his mother's side, Commo- 
dore Matthew C. Perry, who commanded the expedi- 
tion that opened the ports of Japan to commerce, and 
also the naval forces of the Unitctl States during the 
Mexican War. 

Mr. Hclmont was educated at Harvard University, 
where he graduated in the class of 1872, taking special 
honors in history and pcjlitical economy. He afterwards 
entered the Unisersity of Berlin for a course in civil law, 
and on liis return to America took a course of legal 
study at the Columbia College Law .School, where he 
graduateil in 1876. 

Being admitted to practice at the New York bar, he 
formed a legal association with Dudlev Vinton and 
George I'Velinghuj'sen, of that cit}', and was not long in 
obtaining business of high character in the civil courts. 
His practice took him into the Court of Ap[)eals of the 
State, and subsequcntl)- into tile United States Supreme 
Court, before which, in 1880, he argued in the im])ortant 
suit of the Pensacola Telegraph Company against the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, Mr. Belmont being 
counsel for the last-named corporation in oj)position to 
Senator Charles W. Jones, of Floriila. Mr. Jklmont 
gained the case, and secured an opinion from Chief-Jus- 
tice Waite, to the effect that telegraphing comes under 



the commerce clause of the Constitution of the United 
States. 

In 1880 Mr. Belmont entered the political field as a 
candidate for Congress, and was elected as Representa- 
tive for the First District of New York, including Long 
Island (except Brooklj-n) and Staten Island. He con- 
tiiuieil to ser\e in Congress during four consecuti\e 
terms, and during the last four )-ears of his service was 
chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, one of the 
most important committee jxisitions in the House,- In 
Congress he earnestl)^ advocated tariff reform, hokling 
similar views on this question with Carlisle, Morrison, 
Hurd, and other Democratic leaders. He strongly op- 
posed legislation of an improper character according to 
his views, such as the Credit Indiistricl and the bill to 
advance the Landreau claim. In connection with the 
forniLi , the .State Department, lluii under Mr. Blaine, 
was censured by him, and Mr. Morton, the minister to 
France, was severelj- criticised by the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs. 

The bill to indemnify the Chinese for the massacre at 
Rock Springs was introduced and carried through the 
House by Mr. Belmont, and he strongly advocated on 
several occasions the strict observance of treaty obliga- 
tions with the Chinese government. He also took an 
active part in the discussion of the Fishery and Sandwich 
Island treaties, ami as chairman of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee op])osed and tlefeated the effort of the Nica- 
ragua Canal Com|)an)' to secure support from the United 
States government. 

His Congressional service covered other important 

I measures, among which he advocated the claims of the 
city of Washington as the site for the Columbian ICxpo- 
sition, a bill for which was presented by the unanimous 
vote of his committee. The ])assagc of the bill by 
which the United States became one of the first nations 
to participate in tlie Paris Fxposition was due to liis 
efforts, antl gained him the thanks of the French gov- 
ernment and the cross of the Legion of Honor. The 
abolition of the tariff on works of art was persistently 
advocated by him ; while he secured, b\' an almost unan- 
imous vote, the passage of the Retaliation Bill on the 
fisheries' dispute for non-interference with Canada. 

Mr. Belmont resigned his seat in the House to accept 
the nomination, by President Cleveland, as United States 
minister to Sixain. Since his return from this official 
service he has resided in New York, where he is a mem- 
ber of man\' prominent clubs and societies, and enjoj-s 

I high consideration in business and social circles. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



219 



AUGUST BELMONT, JR. 

August Belmont, second son of tlic famous banker 
and financier, was born in New York City, February 18, 
1853, and has shown the possession of quaUties which 
promise to make him a worthy successor to his dis- 
tinguished father in the business to which the hitter lias 
given a world-wide reputation. His preliminar\' educa- 
tion was obtained at the Rectory School, Haniden, 
Connecticut, followed by periods of study at Haverford 
College, Penns\-l\-ania. and Phillips E.xeter Academy, 
after "which he entered Harvard Uni\-ersity, where he 
graduated in 1875. 

Shortly afterwards he entered his father's banking 
house, to begin there his business career, and quickly 
showed a power of application and a natural aptitude 
to financial business which gave him rapidly a grasp of 
affairs unusual in one of his age, and fitted him to 
assume the responsibilities of the great business which 
his father had successfull)- founded. Many young men 
in his situation, as sons of a very wealthy father, might 
have chosen a life of idle enjoyment as the most proper 
and agreeable occupation, but Mr. Belmont had in him 
too much of the old stock to fritter away his time in 
frivolous pursuits, preferring to make himself active in 
business affairs and useful in the world to an)- life of 
mere pleasure. 

The death of his father, and the devotion ot his brother 
to legislative pursuits, in time threw the whole care of 
the great business mainU- within his hands, and he has 
proved himself full\- capable of handling it. His father's 
force of character, directness of purpose, and business 
tact and judgment have descended to him, and the 
world of finance recognizes him as a power no less 
declared than that of the able founder of the house. 

To-day Mr. Belmont, still a young man, is at the head 
of the great banking establishment of August Belmont 
& Co., which under his directing care promises to retain 
the commanding position which it has attained in Ameri- 
can finance, and to grow into still greater inllucnce in the 
metropolitan centre of the New World trade. In addi- 
tion to its American interests, this house possesses vast 
foreign interests, as the accredited representative of the 
Rothschilds in America, its European connections ex- 
tending to ever\- important fiekl of finance in that conti- 
nent. Of its more recent great financial operations may 
be mentioned that in which it is at present engaged, in 
connection with other great houses, in handling the recent 
issue of gold bonds of the United States, the successful 
marketing of which has done so much towards relieving 
this country from an embarrassing situation financially. 

Mr. Belmont has shown himself fully capable of man- 




aging the great interests confided to him, and a self- 
reliance and keen judgment that ha\-e made him a worthy 
successor of his father in the conception and handling 
of important enterprises. In addition to his immediate 
connection with the banking business, he had assumed 
other business interests, being chairman of the board of 
directors of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, a 
director of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Rail- 
road, vice-president of the Kings County Elevated Rail- 
road, and a director of the Bank of the State of New 
York, the National Park Bank, the Equitable Life In- 
surance Company, the Manhattan Trust Company, and 
various other corporations. 

Politically he is strongly Democratic in his views, but 
has shown none of the tendencies towards a political life 
manifested by his distinguished brother, his extended 
business interests fully occupying his attention, and prov- 
ing more congenial to his turn of mind. His hours of 
relaxation, on the contrary, are given to quieter pursuits, 
he being particularl_\- interested in horses and dogs, being 
a member of the American Kennel Club, which his 
earnest efforts as president have given a commanding 
position among organizations of this kind, while in the 
development of thoroughbred horses he has been equally 
active. In addition he is a member of numerous clubs, 
including the Union, Knickerbocker, Manhattan, Country, 
New York Athletic (of which he has been president), 
and various others, particularly the various yacht clubs. 
He is flag-officer of the Corinthian Yacht Club. 

Mr. Belmont was married in 188 1 to Miss Bessie H. 
Morgan, of New York, and has a family of three sons, 
August, Raymond, and Morgan. 



220 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAY GOULD. 

Jav or Jason Golld was born in Roxbuiy, Delaware 
County, New York, May 27, 1836, being a lineal ilcscend- 
ant of Major Nathan Gold or Gould, who came to this 
country about 1646, and settled at Fairfield, Connecti- 
cut. The Goulds were notable in New England until 
after the period of the Revolution, in which some of 
them served as soldiers. Captain Abraham Gould re- 
moved in 1789 to Delaware Count)-, New York, wliere 
John Burr Gould, father of Jay, was born. 1 le was a 
self-educated man, but well-read and of much natural 
ability and strength of character. 

Jay Gould was educated in the schools of his nati\e 
])lace, part f)f the time at Hobart Seminary, eight miles 
from home, Ui which he walked every week, and earned 
his board during the school days as book-keeper for a 
blacksmith. He left school at sixteen, much against his 
inclination, but with the laudable desire to relieve his 
father of his maintenance. His father exchanged his 
farm in 1 85 I for a hardware store in Ro.xbur)-, and here 
the son bega)i his business career, acting as his father's 
I)artner, and mastering the business almost at once. 
While thus engaged, from six in the morning till ten at 
night, he studied surveying, working with such industry 
as to prostrate himself by a nearly fatal illness. 

Ill 1S52 he became a surveyor in Ulster County, at a 
.salary of twenty dollars per month, and for several 
years afterwards pursued this business on his own ac- 
count, making town, county, and railroad surveys not 
only in New York, but also in Ohio and Michigan. 
While thus engagetl he wrote a "History of Delaware 
County." The manuscript being unfortimately destroyeil 
by fire, he rewrote it in a few months, working so un- 
ceasingly that he was again prostratetl by illness. The 
volume thus produced is a remarkable product for a boy 



of twenty, and is a highly important record of the his- 
tory' of the locality treated. 

With the savings from his several \'cars of labor, 
about 35000, Mr. Gould next undertook the tanning 
business in the woodland district of Pennsyhania. founil- 
ing a town named after him Gouldsboro'. He remained 
there for several years, developing the business, defeat- 
ing a litigious partner in the courts, and making money 
until 1S60, when he first adventured in that career in 
which his great fortune was to be made. He had been 
earnestly watching the decline in the value of railroad 
.stocks after the panic, and finding that the first mortgage 
bonds of the Rutland and Washington Railroad (from 
Troy, New York, to Rutland, \'ermont) were selling at 
ten cents on the dollar, he bought a controlling inter- 
est in the road, undertook its management, built up its 
traffic, consolidated the line with several others, and 
finally sold out his bonds at one hundred and twenty, a 
great percentage of advance in value. The operation 
thus described was repeated by him in many other cases, 
and in the vast railroad enterprises of his later years he 
tlid more to huikl up the west and southwest section of 
the country than any other one man. 

Of the railroads with which Mr. (iould was concerned, 
that with which his name has been most prominently 
connected was the luie. This he found in an involved 
state, — almost bankrupt, in fact. He accepted its presi- 
dency, an oflfice w hich brought with it great difficulties. 
His reputation, indeed, suffered severely through the 
slock operations of the notorious Jim Fisk, — from con- 
nection with which he has been exonerated by witnesses 
conversant with the facts. Next Commodore Vander- 
bilt sought to buy up the control of the road, which was 
becoming a dangerous ri\al to the New York Central. 
This Mr. Gould defeated In- issuing large blocks of new 
.stock, — which he could legally do. He was finally 
ousted from the presidenc)-, but he had saved the road. 

He achieved a similar work with the Union Pacific, 
which he found in a nearly bankrupt condition. He 
bought its stocks heaxily from thirty down to fifteen, 
and by his management brought up the stock to a value 
of over seventy-five. He went aU)ng the line, developed 
coal-mines and other resources, and soon had the road 
on a dividend-paying basi.s. To his railroail enterprises 
Mr. Gould added large dealings in the Western Union 
Telegrai)h Company and in the Manh.attan Railway 
I Company, rapiilly adding to his wealth until he became 
I one of the richest men in the country. At the time of 
\ his death he was a director in a large number of railroatl 
and other companies. Mr. Gould was remarkabU- ilo- 
mcstic in habits, and no man ever inspired more love and 
respect in his children. His chief delight was in his 
library, his picture-galleries, and his splendid conserva- 
tories. He died December 2, 1892. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



'71 J 



HENRY R. WORTHINGTON. 

Henky Rossiter Wortiuxcton was born in New 
York, December 17, 1817, being the descendant of a 
family of Worthingtons who came to America in 1649, 
and were descended from Sir Nicholas Worthington, of 
Worthington, England, who fell in the cause of King 
Charles at the battle of Naseby. Soon after the birth 
of Mr. Worthington his parents removed to Brooklyn, 
where they resided for many years. At one period his 
father, Asa Worthington, had held the position of consul 
at Lima, South America, a post of duty which he occu- 
pied for a number of years, being at the time connected 
in business with the importing house of Wetmore, 
Chauncey, Cryder & Co., which had a prosperous 
branch established in Lima. 

Mr. Worthington's business career was in the profes- 
sion of engineering, he being widely known as a hy- 
draulic engineer, though aside from this special branch 
of business he attained high rank in his profession from 
his practical contributions to general engineering, in- 
cluding the development of machinery tools and instru- 
ments of precision, steam navigation on canals, compound 
engines, and other departments of the professions. His 
particular reputation, however, came from his special 
researches into the development of the steam-pimip, in 
which, while modestly making no claim, he has been 
assigned the highest place. 

Undoubtedly the direct steam-pump owes to him its 
original proposition and construction, and his name is 
known throughout the land in connection with it. The 
duplex system in pumping-engines, devised and perfected 
by him, is admitted by the profession to be one of the 
most ingenious and effective inventions in modern engi- 
neering, while it is certainly one of the most widely 
applied. In this system one engine actuates the steam- 
valves of the other, causing the pistons to pause an instant 
at the end of the stroke, and thus enabling the water- 
valves to seat themselves quietly and preserve a uniform 
water-pressure, — a device which is a great improvement 
on the Cornish engine formerly in use. 

Mr. Worthington's career was by no means confined 
to the practical work of his profession, or to the labor of 
invention. His was a life marked by benevolent im- 
pulses, and benefactions of counsel and charit)- too ex- 
tensive for us to undertake here to describe. He was 
warmly humanitarian in instinct, and not only his friends, 
but multitudes of others, were the recipients of kindness 
at his hands, or of modestly concealed charities. As a 
man he was notable for scholarly culture and a brilliant 




native wit, while endowed with an overflowing good- 
fellowship and a conversational power in which he had 
few equals. 

Mr. Worthington was married to Miss Newton, daugh- 
ter of Commodore John T. Newton, of the United States 
navy. She, with four children, survived him, one of 
these, Charles Campbell Worthington, having succeeded 
him as an hydraulic engineer in the business which he 
founded. He died December 17, 1880, and his remains 
were interred in a Memorial Chapel built for him by his 
widow at Nepperhan Valley, near Irvington. This is a 
fine stone building, erected in 1883, and is built on a 
portion of a somewhat extended landed property which 
Mr. Worthington owned in that locality at the time of 
his death. The structure is a tasteful one, — its cost 
having been about S20,000, — and is kept in excellent 
order by the family. 

Mr. Worthington was vice-president of the American 
Society of Mechanical Engineers, whose "Transactions" 
contain a warm tribute to his memory, a portion of 
which we quote : " The wide and profound expressions 
of regret at the sudden decease of Mr. Worthington 
among his professional acquaintances and in the great 
circles of his friends were first and largely an expression 
of personal bereavement. He had earned a high plane 
as an ingenious inventor and a successful engineer, and 
his work will leave an indelible impression upon profes- 
sional practice, but the influence and the traditions of 
him as a man and a friend will outlive generations of 
engineers." 



29 



222 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




DORIJN F. CLAP1\ 

DoRLiN F. Claim-, president of the Westchester County 
National Bank, an institution situated at Peekskiij, New 
York, was born in Peckskili, November 9, 1820. Eiias 
Ciapp, his grandfather, resided in Dutches.s Count)-. His 
son Philip married Emily E. Ferris, of New Castle, their 
family consisting of two children, a daughter, Delia, and 
Dorlin F., the subject of this sketch. Mr. Clapp's younger 
days were passed in Pcekskill, where, when of suitable 
age, he was sent to a boarding-school in North Salem. 
Mis period of education ended at the early age of thir- 
teen, when he began his business career as messenger 
in the Peekskill Bank, an institution with wliicii he has 
since remained steadily connected, his first advance in 
position being to the post of book-keeper and teller, 
thence, in 1848, to that of cashier, and in 1.S78 to that 
of president, which post he still fills with much abilit}- 
and credit. 

The institution with which he is connected is the oldest 
and most important financial institution in that locality 
of the .State. It was founded as a State bank, under the 
old banking laws, on May 27, 1833, its capital being two 
hundred thousand dollars, and was opened at its present 
location, on the southwest corner of Main and Division 
Streets, May i, 1834. So far as is known, it was the first 
bank organized in Westchester County, and for a number 
of years did most of the iianking business of that antl the 
adjoining counties of Putnam and Rockland. During 
its existence it has repaid to its stockholders lialf the 
original capital, with several hundred thou.sand dollars 
in dividends. Mr. Clapp was elected its cashier June 
26, 1848, and its president January 8, 1878. We give 



these particulars concerning this institution on account 
of his long and creditable connection with it. It con- 
tinues the only bank in Peekskill, \\ ith the exception of 
a Savings Bank established in 1859. 

Mr. Clapp is descended from an English famih- of 
much consideration in the farmer history of England, 
the line of descent being traced back to Sir Ralph Clapp, 
of Eduardston, County of Suffolk, England. The coat 
of arms granted to this baronet is still in the possession 
of his descendants. As regards Mr. Clapp's personal 
histoiy, it has been without striking incident, his career 
being simply one of strict and faithful attention to duty, 
and close and wise supervision of the interests of the 
institution under his charge. Few persons are better 
acquainted than he with the business histoiy of the sur- 
rounding district, nor better qualified to preserve the 
bank from dangerous complications of any character. 

As regards the respect and confidence with which the 
citizens of his native town regard him, they are best 
show n in the fact that both political parties long since 
combined to elect him to the post of treasurer of Peeks- 
kill. This office was conferred on him in 1852, and its 
duties have been performed b}- him to the entire satis- 
faction of the public, to whom he stands as the non- 
partisan and faithful guardian of the funds committed to 
his care. Mis life, in truth, has been one of the highest 
integrity and honorable dealing, which have won him 
the respect of the entire community, and his later years 
are being spent in his native village in the midst of a 
community of personal friends. 

Mr. Clapp's wife was Fannie, daughter of Da\id Hart, 
of Peekskill. She died in 1876. Of her three children, 
Philip, tlu- oldest, died at the age of thirty-eight, Dcirlin 
dietl in earl)- childhood, and onlj- one survives, Fannie, 
the wife of P'raiik H. McGa\ie, who now resides with her 
father in Peekskill. This village, indeed, is identified 
with Mr. Clapp's family living and dead. His father 
and grantlfather alike were laid to rest in the burj-ing- 
ground of the I-Viends' Meeting at Peekskill, they being 
members of that societ)-, while his wife and her two 
children sleep their last in the cemetery of the Baptist 
Church of the neighboring settlement of Yorktown. 

In addition to his residence in Peekskill, Mr. Clapp 
possesses a summer home, or country-seat, at Lake 
Mohegan, in a location of great natural beauty. This 
lake is situated in the north-western corner of Yorktown, 
five miles from Peekskill. It is about two hundred acres 
in extent, and lies in the midst of a well-cultivated and 
attractive country, there being in its vicinity two summer 
hotels, which attract many summer visitors. Here Mr. 
Clapp very pleasantly passes his hours of relaxation 
from business cares. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



223 



REV. THEODORE L. CUYLHR. 

Theodore L. Cuylek, D.D., who may justly be 
classed among the leading divines of America, was bom at 
Aurora, New York, January 10, 1822. He is descended 
from Huguenot and Hollander stock, and in a measure 
from a legal ancestry, his grandfather having practiced 
law at Aurora for many years, while his father, B. Led- 
yard Cuyler, also gained considerable repute in this pro- 
fession, though he died at the early age of twenty-eight. 
The son, at that time but four years of age, was brought 
up b\- his mother, a woman of the most tender and 
devout Christian character. It was her earnest desire 
that he should become a minister of the gospel, and she 
trained him with tliis end in \iew. It is said that her 
first gift to him was a pocket-Bible, which the precocious 
child was able to read at the age of four. 

It was hoped b)' many of the famil\- th.it he would 
pursue his father's profession, in view of the large busi- 
ness which had been gained in several generations of 
legal practice. But his mother's wishes prevailed. At 
sixteen he entered Princeton College, and at seventeen 
joined the Presbyterian Church, largely through the in- 
fluence produced upon his mind by a series of prayer- 
meetings at school. He graduated at the age of nine- 
teen, and passed the following }-ear in Europe, where, 
having introductions to se\'eral eminent men, anion" them 
Charles Dickens and Thomas Carlyle, he was flatteringly 
received, and praised for " his vivacious youth, overflow- 
ing with cultured curiosity and Yankee wit." 

While abroad he wrote a number of sketches of travel 
and of distinguished men for American newspapers, 
which attracted much attention. Being at Glasgow, 
Scotland, during Father Mathew's temperance crusade 
there, he was in\ited to speak at one of the meetings, 
and did so with such feeling and ardor that at the close 
of his address the apostle of temperance enthusiastically 
embraced and kissed him. Shortly after his return to 
America the young orator was asked to address a village 
church meeting, and did so with a striking effect upon 
his auditors. This success as a religious speaker finally 
induced him to accede to his mother's wishes, greatly to 
her joy, and he entered the Princeton Theological Semi- 
nary, where he graduated in 1S46. 

For the succeeding si.x months he supplied the pulpit of 
a church at Kingston, Pennsylvania, and soon afterwards 
assumed a pastoral charge at Burlington, New Jersey, 
where his orator\- proved so effective and his success 
was so markeil, that it was felt that he should fill the 
more trying field of a city pastorate. He accordingly 
removed to the Thirtl Presbyterian Church, of Trenton, 
and remained there till 1853, in which year he received 
a call from the Shawmont Congregational Church, of 
Boston. This he declined in favor of a call from the 




Market Street Reformed Dutch Church, in New York, 
in which he succeeded the eloquent Dr. Ferris, chan- 
cellor of the University of the City of New York. Here 
his preaching proved highly effective, particularly attract-- 
in" \-oun<T men, who flocked by thousands to hear him. 
After seven \-ears of a liighh- successful pastorate here 
he accepted the call of the Lafayette Avenue Presby- 
terian Church, of Brooklyn, whose pulpit he has since 
then continued to fill. 

The growth of Brooklyn had then fairly begun, and 
Dr. Cuyler, seeing there a promising field for Christian 
ministration, consented to take charge of the church, 
which till then had languished, if the congregation would 
undertake to purchase a plot of ground at the corner of 
Lafayette Avenue and Oxford Street, and build there a 
plain church capable of seating about two thousand 
people. This they engaged to do, and accomplished by 
1862. The growth of the new church proved marvel- 
ous, and from that time to the jiresent its histor\-, under 
Dr. Cuyler's vigorous pastorate, has been one of the 
highest prosperity. 

As a Christian orator. Dr. Cuyler holds a \'ery high 
rank. His power as a preacher " lies in picturesque de- 
scription, and the weaving in of scenes and illustrations 
from Scripture and from daily life." In manner he is 
very earnest, and in results highly effective, being pos- 
sessed of the highest qualities of oratory and the most 
impressive power. In addition to his labors in the pul- 
pit he has been a voluminous writer, both in the columns 
of the religious press and in published books, of which 
he has written many on religious subjects. He has also 
been a persistent laborer in great reforms, such as the 
Children's Aid Society, the National Temperance Society, 
and others, and as a whole his life has been one " mighty 
for good." 



224 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOSEPH PARK. 

Joseph Pakk was bcnn in the town of Rye, West- 
chester Count)', New York, May 24, 1823, beinij de- 
scended from a fitmily of P'rench origin which is among 
the oldest of tlie settlers of tlic count)'. P^or many 
years his forefathers were engaged in farming, being 
settled in and about the town of Rye. His father, who 
succeeded to the family avocation of agriculture, trained 
his son fully in the business of farming, perhaps with 
the expectation that he would keep up the traditions of 
his ancestry, and spend his life in the culture of the 
fields. Mr. Park's ambition, however, led him at an 
early age in another direction, and when only thirteen 
years old he left home to enter business as a clerk in tiie 
grocery store of Henjamin Aibro, No. 168 Grand .Street, 
New York. 

The very youthful clerk was gifted with an ambition 
that was not long to leave him in a subordinate position. 
After three years' business experience he, then but six- 
teen, purchased the business, in conjunction with his 
employer's brother, and continued it for one )'ear under 
the firm-name of Albro & Park. y\t the end of this 
])eiiod Mr. Albro retired and was succeeded by Mr. John 
M. Tilford, the firm-name becoming Park & Tilford. 
This firm has now been in existence for more than fifty 
years, and has attained a reputation as grocers and im- 
porters which is surpa.ssed by that of no similar business 
house in this country. 



The success of this business has been in great measure 
due to Mr. Park's strict attention to all its details. In 
common with his partner, he has, from the unpretentious 
beginning of their enterprise at No. 35 Carmine Street, 
evolved a business of great dimensions, the extent of 
the trade and the strength of the credit of the house 
having no superior in the history of the grocery business 
either in the United States or in Europe. The firm pos- 
sesses four large stores, two upon Sixth Avenue, one at 
the corner of Broadway and Twent)'-first Street, and the 
fourth, said to be the finest establishment of its kind in 
the world, at P'ifth A\enue and l-"ift\'-ninth Street. These 
are abundantly filled with the iiuiltitudinous manufac- 
tured and natural food-supplies anil luxuries which tempt 
the palates of motiern epicures, while their custom is 
wide-spread throughout the city and its \icinit\-. 

Mr. Park's birthright as a farmer has left him with a 
love for rural life, despite the fact that business has kei)t 
him closely confined to the city. This native inclination 
he has gratified as far as the exigencies of trade would 
permit. Thirty-five years ago he began to purchase land 
in the \icinit\' of his earl)' home, and for )'cars continued 
these purchases till he had accumulated a landed estate 
of more than fourteen hundred acres, extcntling from 
the town of Rye to that of Harrison. This land is not 
permitted to lie idle, but is all improved as a farming 
property, and is worked under his directions by a large 
force of skilled laborers, presenting annually a picture 
of agricultural thrift and success w hieh has no superiors 
in the State. 

Mr. Park resides at " Whitly," a tasteful ami elegant 
residence upon this estate. He was married in iiS49 to 
Miss Mar)' T. Carpenter, of Harrison, and has two sons, 
George C. and Hobart J. Park. In New York his busi- 
ness operations have brought him intn CDnuection witli 
many financial institutions, stock companies, and other 
business concerns, and he is a director in the New York 
County Bank, the Bank of the Metropolis, and the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Comjian)'. 
Despite the many business cares and duties which fall 
upon Mr. Park's shoulders, and his advanced age, he 
remains a man of strong ])h)'si(|ue, wiiile his n,iti\-e 
friendliness and cordiality have won him hosts of friends, 
both among those he meets in commercial life and tho.se 
of his social circles. His career is a notable one when 
we consider the very early age in which he ad\entured 
in business for himself, and the steady and undeviating 
success which has been the record of his business life. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



225 



SHEPPARD HOMANS. 

Shepi'ard lIoMAxs, distinguished for his mathematical 
attainments and for his vahiable mortality tables, is a 
native of Baltimore, Maryland, where he was born April 
12, 1 83 1, being the son of the late I. Smith Romans 
and Sarah A. Sheppard Homans. h^rom earl}' youth he 
showed indications of mathematical ability and scholarly 
tendencies, and, after graduating from St. Mary's Sem- 
inary, in his nati\e cit)', he, in 1849, entered Harvard 
Uni\-ersity. Here his abilities strikingly manifested 
themselves, and he became noted for brilliant mathe- 
matical powers and for fine scholarship generally. He 
had passed all the examinations necessary for a degree, 
when he received a government appointment highly 
flattering to his proficiency in mathematical studies, that 
of chief of an e.xpedition to ascertain the difference in 
longitude between Boston and Liverpool. The result 
of his labors in this direction was an appointment on the 
United States Coast Survey, and afterwards as astrono- 
mer on several exploring expeditions in various regions 
of the United States. 

Mr. Homans left the go\-ernment service in 1865 to 
enter the life insurance field of business, succeeding in 
that year Professor Charles Gill as actuary of the Mutual 
Life Insurance Company of New York. Here was a 
department of affairs in which mathematical skill was 
no less important than in those which had previously 
engaged his attention. Men apparently die with little 
regard to mathematical requisites ; but if we leave the 
case of individuals and consider that of large numbers, 
it becomes e\ident that there is method in mortality, 
and that the arrows of death do not fall quite without 
order or system. In truth, tables of human mortality 
can be made capable of use as almost infallible guides 
in the business of life insurance, and Mr. Homans had 
no sooner entered that field of duty than he set himself 
to a revision of the tables then in use. 

At that time the British mortality table was generally 
employed. It was not exactly adapted to use in this 
country, where different influences prevailed, and Mr. 
Homans at once began the work of compiling an Ameri- 
can table of mortality, based upon the statistics of death 
in the United States, and in consonance with our special 
hygienic conditions. The table thus produced is now 
in use by evcr\' American life insurance company of any 
importance. Mr. Homans's valuable labors in this field 
have made him be}-ond question the leading authority 




on life insurance statistics in this countr\-, while his 
abilities in this direction are no less recognized in Eu- 
rope. His work on the American table of mortality 
was quickly followed by his suggestion of the " Con- 
tribution Plan," designed for the equitable distribution 
of the surplus funds of life insurance companies among 
those to whom these surplus accumulations justly be- 
long. His work in this direction has also been of much 
value and is widely accepted. 

In 1 861 he visited Europe in the service of the Mutual 
Life, to study the work of the life offices of Great 
Britain. Subsequently, in 1869, he again crossed the 
ocean in the compan\-'s service, to attend the Interna- 
tional Statistical Congress held at the Hague. He also 
acted as the representative of the American Geographi- 
cal Society at this Congress. 

In addition to his duties in connection with the Mutual 
Life Company, Mr. Homans has acted as consulting 
actuary of a number of companies. In 1875 he organ- 
ized the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society of 
New York, whose specialty is to furnish renewable term 
life insurance. Under his control this company has had 
a striking success, indicative of public confidence in his 
abilit}-. 

Aside from business connections, Mr. Homans is presi- 
dent of the Englewood Club, the Brookside Cemetery 
Association, and the Board of Trustees of PZnglewood 
School for Boys, and is a member of the Union League, 
the Law)-ers', and various other clubs of the metropolis. 



226 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




THEODORE A. STRANGE. 

Theodore A. Stkantie, long a proniincnt merchant 
of the metropolis, is a son of the late well-known silk 
importer, Edwin B. Strange, who was born in Glouces- 
tershire, England, and came to this countiy in 1837. 
Mr. Strange was born in New York City, August 15, 
1843. His prcparator)- course of education was obtained 
from private tutors, and in his sixteenth year he was 
sent by his father to England to pursue a further course 
in the Eltham Collegiate Institute, I-^lthani, Kent. The 
original intention had been that he should c<)ni]jletc his 
education with a university course at O.xford, but on 
consideration he decided to return to his native land and 
begin tlicrc a course of mercantile training. 1 le accord- 
ingly entered as a clerk the house of Iv B. Strange & 
Brother — kept by his father anil uncle — in i860, and 
continued thus engaged during the succeeding six years, 
gaining in that time a thorough knowledge of the rciiui- 
sites of a commercial career. In 1866 he was admitted 
into the firm as a partner, the firin-name now being 
changed to Strange & Brother. 

The firm, as tiius organized, continued to do business 
until 1880, when Mr. Strange's father witlulrew, and died 
in the following j'car. I'Vom this date until 1886 the 
firm consistetl of Mr. Strange and his uncle, Albert A. 
Strange. In February of that year Albert A. died. He 
was succeeded in the firm by his son William, the house, 
now constituted of Tiieodore A. Strange anil his cousin, 
William Strange, still bearing the old firm-name of 
Strange & Brother. 



Among the mercantile concerns of New York there is 
none that bears a higher record for commercial upright- 
ness and fair dealing than the one here referred to, and 
none, cither at home or abroad, that enjoys a higher 
credit. The firm formerly added to its special line of 
silk and ribbon importing — in which at one time it ilid a 
heavier business than an\- other house in this countrj- — 
that of flowers ami feathers, which was at one time an 
important branch of its business, but has of late years 
been dropjied, and the business confined to its original 
line of goods. The factory represented by Strange & 
Brother is the most extensive in its special direction in 
this country. 

Mr. .Strange, while active in business, has not neglected 
social pleasures and duties. He was formerly a member 
of many of the New York social organizations, ami was 
particularl)- interested in the New York Yacht Club, of 
which he is still a member. During the early j^eriod of 
his connection with this club he was an enthusiastic 
yachtsman, and owner of the celebrated sloop-yacht 
" Ariadne," at that time one of the winning yachts in 
American waters. He has also been much interested 
in the order of Freemasons, and is a Mason of high 
standing, being connected with Ivanhoe Lodge, No. 
610, Jerusalem Chapter, No. 8, Adelphie Council, 
No. 7, and Cieur de Lion Commandcrv, No. 23, 
Knights Templar. His business societ)- relation is 
with the American Silk Association, of which he is 
a member. 

In May, 1874, Mr. Strange married Miss Jennie Marks 
Taylor, daughter of Hon. W. J. Taylor, ex-ma)-or of 
Jersey City. For twent)' years previous to 1882 he had 
resiiled at Ingleside, Dobbs Ferry, but in that j'car 
rcnuned to Irvington, a village on the east bank of the 
Hudson above Dobbs Fcrr\- and about twenty miles 
north of New York, in ami around which are many 
beautiful residences, surroumled by well-kept lawns and 
garilens, while the locality commands some of the finest 
views of Hudson River scenery. Among the more 
attractive of the suburban residences here situated is 
"Granite Lodge," a spacious and elegant mansion, many- 
gabled, and charmingly situated among well-grown trees 
and facing a .spacious lawn. This mansion, purchased 
by Mr. .Strange in 18S2, h.is since been his place of 
abode. He has made himself very well known in the 
western .section of Westchester County, where he lias 
won great esteem, and long been a prominent figure 
in social circles. In religious faith he is an lC]>isco- 
palian, and regularly attends St. Barnabas's Church, 
Irvington. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



227 



COLONEL FREDERICK D. GRANT. 

Colonel Frederick Dent Grant, eldest son of the 
famous <jeneral of the civil war, Ulysses S. Grant, was 
born at St. Louis, Missouri, Maj- 30, 1850. He received 
his education there and at Galena, Illinois, where his 
father was engaged in business at the date of the out- 
break of the war. When General Grant first set out 
from Galena for Quincy, to take command of the regi- 
ment to whicii he had been appointed, he had his son, 
then eleven years of age, with him ; but on finding or- 
ders for an advance, he sent the boy back home, fearing 
that Mrs. Grant would be anxious for her youthfid son. 
This lad)% however, with the spirit of a soldier's wife, 
wrote to her husbcUid, urging him to take Fred with 
him. It was too late ; the boy was already on his way 
up the Mississippi in a steamboat, to take rail from Du- 
buque home. 

What he saw of the life of a soldier perhaps gave the 
adventurous lad a taste for the military career, for two 
years afterwards we find him with his father in the Vicks- 
burg campaign, where he had the unique experience of 
being present at five battles before he was thirteen years 
of age. General Grant, in his " Memoirs," relates the 
story of how he left his son asleep on a gun-boat at the 
time of the advance on Grand Gulf with the hope that 
the boy was safely disposed of until after that Confeder- 
ate stronghold should be taken. But fate and the )'oung 
soldier's order ruled otherwise. Fred waked, missed his 
father and the troops, and hearing the distant roar of the 
guns from Port Gibson, where an engagement was then 
in progress, he hastened overland to the spot, and joined 
his father in the midst of the fight. He afterwards 
accompanied him to Grand Gulf on foot, there being no 
horses to spare, and was obliged to forage for himself, as 
the commissary was in a very disorganized condition. 
But the young ad\-enturer was quite capable of taking 
care of himself After the battle Grant saw him, with 
Mr. C. A. Dana, an officer, mounted on two enormous 
horses, white with age, and supplied with dilapidated 
saddles and bridles, the two presenting a kulicrous spec- 
tacle to the father's eyes. Young Fred continued with 
his father through camp and siege, and was in every 
battle of the campaign, till the surrender of Vicksburg 
to the Union arm}\ 

During this period the boy contracted a serious dis- 
ease, and became so dangerously ill that Grant was 
obliged to obtain leaxe of absence during the Chatta- 
nooga campaign, and seek his sick child at St. Louis. 
He recovered, howev'cr, and was present on March 9, 
1864, at Grant's first inter\iew with President Lincoln, 
when the famous soldier was made commander-in-chief 
of the United States armies, with the grade of lieutenant- 
general. 




In 1867 the young soldier, then seventeen years of 
age, entered the United States Military Academy at 
West Point, as the necessary step to his assuming a mili- 
tary career. He grailuatcd in 1871, and was assigned 
to the Fourth Cavalr)-, with the grade of second lieuten- 
ant. Immediately afterwards he was raised to the rank 
of first lieutenant. During the remainder of this year 
he was busilj' engaged. In the summer he was em- 
ployed on the Union Pacific and Colorado Central Rail- 
roads as an engineer, and in the latter part of that year 
he visited Europe, in compan)- with General Sherman, 
gaining there, doubtless, much important information in 
regard to the military art. 

In 1872, after his return to this countr)-, he was placed 
in command of a cavalry escort to the party making a 
preliminary survey for the -Southern Pacific Railroad, as 
a protection against hostile Indians. In 1873 he was 
made an aide-de-camp on the staff of General Sherman, 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. During the succeed- 
ing eight years Colonel Grant was busily engaged in mili- 
tary duty, taking part in nearly every expedition against 
the Indians. Within this jieriod he had one pleasant 
diversion from military duty, during his father's cele- 
brated journey around the world, joining him in the 
Oriental part of this excursion, and continuing with liim 
thereafter. 

He resigned his commission in 1881, and was con- 
stantly with his father during his illness, rendering him 
essential aid in the j)rcparation of his " Memoirs," in 
verifying statements from the records. After General 
Grant's death, he entered upon the care of his mother 
and the estate until 1892, when he was appointed b\- 
President Harrison United States, minister to Austria, 
and served the country in that capacity until tiie incom- 
insf of the next administration. 



228 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN CLAFLIN. 

John Claklin, tlic present liead of the great mercan- 
tile corporation of The H. \\. Ciafiin Company, and son 
of Horace Brigham Claflin, tlic founder of the house, 
was born in BrookKn, July 24, 1850. His father, a 
native of Milford, Delaware, and for a number of j-ears 
engaged in business in his native city, came to New York 
in 1S43, and began there in a modest way that dry-goods 
business whicii has since grown to such extensive pro- 
portions. The business expanded from that time till the 
era of the civil war, when the firm fell into trouble, but 
succeeded in a short time in meeting all its liabilities. 
There was minor trouble in 1873, but it easily weathered 
this storm, and gained an invulnerable position in the 
mercantile world. 

Mr. Claflin's son ami future successor in the immense 
business built up by his energy ami ability received a 
])reparatory education in schools of Brooklyn and New 
\'ork, and afterwards entered the College of the Citj- 
of New York, where he graduated in iS^fj, carrying off 
n)any of the honors of his class. 1 le inherited from his 
father an excellent capacity for business, and with a 
native inclination to a life of trade he entered the Claflin 
establishment in 1870, wliere he quickly acquired a knowl- 
edge of business details and showed an unusual aptitude 
for commercial life. Three years later he was admitted 
into the firm as a junior partner. 

This was the )'ear of the great panic and of tiie struggle 
of the house with the weight of its obligations. It had 
an abundance of assets, but discounts were not easily to 
be had, and a short extension of its obligations became 



necessar)-. A few months sufficed to end this difficulty, 
but it was a period of very useful experience to the 
young merchant, and one in which he displayed traits 
that demonstrated his fitness to succeed his father in 
business. V>y the assistance he rendered the firm at 
that time his reputation for ability became assured in 
the mercantile world. In the later years of the elder 
Claflin much of the care and responsibility of the busi- 
ness fell upon the shouUlers of his son. His manage- 
ment proved all that could be desired, and for the ex- 
tension and continued prosperity of the house the credit 
is very largely due to him. On his father's death, in 
1885, he became the responsible head of the concern, 
and during the past ten )-ears has handled it with a skill 
and enterprise which have disproved the assertions of 
those who declared that the business wouKI rapidly 
decline with the passing away of the great merchant to 
whom its remarkable de\elopment was duo. 

Mr. Claflin works harti while engaged in the store, 
but wiseh' gives two months of each year to recreation. 
In these holidays he seeks enjoyment in directions not 
generally attractive to the wealthy pleasure-seeker. He 
is enthusiastically fond of travel and research, spending 
his vacations in the Rocky Mountains or other regions 
of difficult exploration, usually without companions, and 
often in localities which white men seldom reach. In 
this way every portion of the United States has been 
visited by him, while his journej's ha\e extended through 
Mexico, South America, Elurope, and Asia, all of which 
he has tra\ersed extensively. In the summer of 1877 
he performed a remarkable journc)-, the details of which 
would make a highly interesting book of travel and ail- 
venture. Entering a port of Peru, in company with a 
single white companion, he traversed the South Ameri- 
can continent from side to side at its widest portion, 
journeying most of the way by mule and canoe, and 
finally reaching the Atlantic at the mouth of the .Xmazon. 
The course he followed has been often traverseil in ])arts, 
but seldom in its entire length by a w liitc man. Man)' 
of his friends sought to dissuade him from this enter- 
prise, on account of its danger, but he was not to be 
stopped, and finished the journey in six months in .safety, 
and with a rich harvest of experiences. 

Mr. Claflin is a trustee of Plymouth Church, though 
not a member. He is also a trustee of many charitable 
institutions of Brooklyn, ami actively interested in their 
l}ros])erity. About half the year is spent by him in the 
fine Brookh'n mansion built by his father, and the re- 
mainder of his business year in the fmiil)- residence of 
Fordham, in the upper section of New York City. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



229 



CHARLES A. DANA. 

Charles Anderson Dana, an American journalist of 
distinction, was born at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, Au- 
gust 8, 1 8 19. His education was completed at Harvard, 
\\ hich he was compelled to leave after two years' study, 
on account of a disease of the eyes. In 1841 he joined 
the famous Brook-Farm Communit}- at Roxbur}% Massa- 
chusetts, associating himself with various persons of later 
literary celebrity and Utopian ideas in this notable com- 
munistic experiment. He remained here for two years, 
and after the collapse of the enterprise became one of 
the editorial staff of the Harbinger, a weekly paper in 
which the socialistic views of Fourier were warmly advo- 
cated. His service on this paper continued from 1844 
to 1847, after which he became a contributor of the 
Boston Chronotypc. In 1847 he made his way to New 
York, with an experience in editorial work which com- 
mendetl him to the publishers of the Tribune, upon which 
he became engaged as assistant editor, being placed par- 
ticularly in charge of the foreign department. For a 
number of years he was managing editor of the paper, 
and was largely instrumental in making it the leading 
organ of the party in opposition to the extension of 
slavery to new Territories, vigorously combating this 
effort on the part of the South which led, step by step, 
to the development of the civil war. His earnest war 
spirit, as manifested in his famous " On to Richmond" 
editorials, in 1861, brougiit him into disagreement with 
Horace Greeley, who was disinclined to have the Tribu)ie 
take so radical an attitude. The result of this difference 
of opinion was that in 1S62 Mr. Dana withdrew from the 
paper. 

He did not long remain out of employment. In 1863 
Secretary Stanton appointed him Assistant Secretary of 
War, a post in which he was at first chiefly employed 
in forwarding General Grant's military operations in the 
West. He continued in this position until the end of 
the war, as a very efficient aid to the War Department in 
its stupendous task. After the war lie accepted the 
editorship of the Chicago Re[>iibliean ; but that paper 
failed to make a success, and, leaving it, Mr. Dana re- 
turned to New York, where he, with some others, 
purchased the New York Sun, a newspaper which had 
for thirt)' years been successfully published as a one-cent 
daily. The new editor increased the price to two cents, 
adding, of course, to its size and enterprise, and handling 
it with such ability that its circulation rapidly increased 
despite its enhanced price. Under his management it 
quickly established its record as the leading Democratic 




organ of the metropolis. Of the first number published 
January i, 1868, forty-three thousand copies were issued, 
and its circulation steadily grew until it reached the one 
hundred thousand mark. 

The Sun has been sensational and personal in character, 
but has been managed with much ability, and kept in 
close touch with all the leading topics of the times. Mr. 
Dana's long journalistic experience had amply equipped 
him for the management of such a journal, and the influ- 
ence of his paper has continued great. He is a vig- 
orous writer, quick and bold in the expression of his 
ideas, and well informed on all topics of general public 
interest, and has alwa}'s kept his paper well abreast of 
the times. 

Mr. Dana has not confined himself to journalism, but 
has taken active part in various literary enterprises. In 
1858 he compiled and published the " Household Book 
of Poetry," an excellent favorite collection. His princi- 
pal labor in this direction was his long-continued task as 
editor of Appleton's " New American C\'clopn;dia," which 
he planned and edited in association with George Ripley, 
literary editor of the New York Tribune, and one of his 
old Brook-Farm companions. This work, consisting of 
sixteen volumes, was issued between 1858 and 1863. In 
1873 he became editor, in common with Mr. Ripley, of 
a revised edition of the work, which was completed in 
1876. In addition to the literary labors mentioned, Mr. 
Dana has published several translations and anthologies, 
and in 1868 took part in writing a biography of General 
Grant. 



30 



2W 



.UAK/^RS OF NFAV YORK. 




JUDGE HHNRY A. GILDERSLKEVE. 

Henrv Alger Gildersleeve was born in Dutchess 
County, New York, on August i, 1<S40. His early life 
was spent on his fiithcr's farm and in attendance at the 
district scliool. He afterwards attended boarding-school, 
and until he reached his majority was either at school 
or engaged in teaching that he might acquire funds with 
which to pursue his studies. On the outbreak of the 
civil war he recruited for the One Hundred and Fiftieth 
Regiment, N. Y. S. V. Infantry, and was mustered in as 
captain of Company C on October i i, 1S62. He served 
with his regiment in the Midcilc I)c])artment, untler 
General Wool, and subsefpicntly in the Army of the 
Potomac, in which, with his regiment, he parlicipateil in 
the battle of Gettysburg and in the subsequent campaigns 
in Marjland and Virginia. After several months of spe- 
cial duty. Captain Gildersleeve, in June, 1S64, rejoined 
his regiment at Kenesaw Mountain, where it formed a 
part of the command of General Sherman, then engaged 
in fighting its way to Atlanta. He .served in Sherman's 
army until the close of the war, partici|)ating in numer- 
ous battles and skirmishes, and making the funous 
march witii Sherman to the sea. 

He was afterwards made provost-marshal of the Tiisl 
Division of the Twentieth Ami)- Corps, on the staff of 
General Williams, of Michigan. His iluties as provost- 
marshal were delicate, responsible, and arduous, but were 
discharged in a manner which met the approval of his 
superiors. He was subsequently promoted to the rank 
of major of his regiment, and brevettcd lieutenant-col- 
onel, U. S. v., by President Lincoln, " for gallant and 
meritorious service in the campaigns of Georgia and the 
Carolinas." 

When mustered out of service, in June, 1865, Colonel 



Gildersleeve chose the law as his profession, and in the 
autumn of that year entered the Columbia College Law 
School. 

He was admitted to the bar in 1866, and from that 
time until his elevation to the bench, in 1875, he was a 
hard-working and successful lawyer in the citj' of New 
York. The duties of his profession did not wean him 
entirely from his fondness for military life. In 1870 
he was unanimously chosen lieutenant-colonel of the 
Twelfth Regiment, N. G. N. Y., and took a keen interest 
in his militar_\- duties and in promoting the success of the 
regiment. He subsequently became assistant adjutant- 
general antl chief of staff in the First Division of the 
New York National Guard, with the rank of colonel, 
which position he hekl for more than twelve years. He 
also became famous as a rilleman.and was captain of the 
American Rifle Team during its successful tour of Great 
Britain and Ireland in 1875, in which its success was 
largely due to his striking skill. 

In civil life Colonel Gildersleeve attracted considerable 
favorable comment as a lecturer, and as an agreeable, 
forcible, and interesting speaker. In 1S75 he was elected 
judge of the Court of General Sessions of the city of 
New York, and for fourteen years sat upon the bench of 
that court, disposing of an immense number of criminal 
cases of every kind and description. He always tem- 
pered justice with mere}-, and his record as a criminal 
judge is excellent- He is now in his fifth year of .service 
on the civil bench as judge of the Superior Court of the 
city of New York, and has upwards of ten j-ears of ser- 
vice still before him. Under the new amendments to the 
constitution he will become a judge of the .Sui)reme 
Court from January 1, i8y6. 

Juilge Ciildcrsk-ex-e is now in the prime of lilc, blessctl 
with perfect health and ;in iron constitution. With a 
past so varied anil eventful, he has still many jears of 
usefulness before him. He is a tall, strong, and heavil)'- 
built man, of dignified and rather reserved bearing, but 
with manners of unvarying courtesy and kintlness. He 
still finds some time in which to indulge his fondness for 
out-door s|)orts, and is frequently seen at athletic games. 
A tramp over llu: hills or through the swamps, wherever 
game can be found, with dog and gun, is his favorite 
pastime. While he has no longer the skill with the rifle 
that he possessed in earlier years, he is still a master 
[ with the shot-gun. It was truly said by a prominent 
editorial writer, that though Judge tiildersleeve might 
I live to write some of the best judicial ojiinions reported, 
they would drop into insignificance when comi)ared with 
his fame as a rifleman. A prominent man, who had been 
a political o|)ponent of Judge Gildersleeve, once said of 
him that his principal characteristics were his evenness 
I of tem|)er, his kindness of heart, and his fitlelity to his 
I friends. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



231 



WILLIAM SEWARD WEBB, M.D. 

William Seward Webb, son of General James Wat- 
son Webb, was born in the city of New York, January 
31, 185 1. His grandfather, General Samuel B. Webb, 
was a Revolutionary officer of distinction, commanding 
a regiment at Bunker Hill, and afterwards serving on the 
staffs of Putnam and Washington. He was an intimate 
friend of General Washington. 

Dr. Webb was carefully educated in his early years 
by private tutors, and afterwards spent five years in the 
military school of Colonel Churchill at Sing Sing. The 
succeeding two years were spent at Columbia College. 
He had early shown a strong predilection for medical 
study, and after the completion of his college course 
determined to make medicine his profession. He accord- 
ingly entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of 
New York, graduating in 1875, and afterwards spent 
two years in study in the medical schools of Vienna. 

Dr. Webb, well prepared as he was by native tendency 
and earnest study for the profession of medicine, found 
his energies unavoidably turned into another field. In 
1 88 1 he married Lila Osgood Vanderbilt, daughter of 
the railroad magnate, William H. Vanderbilt, and soon 
after an abundant channel for his energies was opened 
in connection with the Vanderbilt railroad system. He 
possessed an excellent natural business faculty, which 
quickly became manifested in his management of the 
Wagner Palace Car Company, of which he has been 
president since 1883. This company he has reorganized 
and brought to its present state of effective operation, 
as an indispensable adjunct to railroad tra\cl. Another 
interest, of a different kind, which fell into his hands, 
was the construction of the Adirondack and St. Lawrence 
Railroad, a line which extends through the Adirondack 
wilderness from Herkimer, New York, to the St. Law- 
rence River, a distance of two hundred and thirt}'-three 
miles. This undertaking was solel\- managed by him, 
and since 1891 he has been president of the compan\-. 
Dr. Webb's interests now e.Ktend to a considerable num- 
ber of railroad and other corporations, in each of which 
he is a director or holds other official position, his busi- 
ness connections being very diversified. 

Aside from business affairs. Dr. Webb finds much to 
interest and employ him. For three years he held the 
position of president-general in the National Society of 
the Sons of the American Revolution, — an organization 
which differs essential 1)' in the character of its member- 
ship from the similarly named "Sons of the Revolu- 
tion." He is vice-president of the Vermont Society of 
the Sons of the American Revolution, and since 1891 
has been the inspector of rifle practice on the staff of the 
Governor of Vermont, on which he ranks as colonel. 




Much of his time and attention is given to horse- 
breeding, which he pursues with enthusiasm and scientific 
care, and his Shelburne P"arms Stud, where he has 
several hundred head of fine stock, is a model insti- 
tution. Recently his attention has been largely directed 
to the development of the hackney, and with great suc- 
cess, as is attested by the many prizes which he yearly 
takes at the New York horse shows. Chief among his 
horses is the famous hackney stallion Matchless of 
Londesboro, the winner of numerous prizes both in this 
country and abroad. He is a prominent member of the 
American Hackney Horse Society, and has been its 
secretary and treasurer since its organization. 

To his Shelburne Farms estate in Vermont Dr. Webb 
adds a large preserve in the Adirondacks, which is known 
by the title of Ne-ha-sa-ne Park. It is made up of forest, 
hill, and lake, its woods being well stocked with game, 
its waters with fish, and he spends at his lodge in this 
wilderness several weeks during each hunting season, 
engaged in sport with gun and rod. 

Dr. Webb has been a somewhat extensive traveler, 
having journeyed widely through Pairope, and visited 
every quarter of the globe. He has made two long 
tours through the United States and Canada, one, in 
1889, of twelve thousand miles; and the other, in 1S93, 
of fifteen thousand miles. He is a member of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, and politically is a strong sup- 
porter of the principles of the Republican party. He 
takes no active part in politics, however, his leisure being 
devoted to travel and sport, and to the bountiful enter- 
tainment of his friends, in the winter at New York, and 
in the summer at Shelburne, Vertnont. In this social 
dut\- his wife plays an eminent part. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




FRANK TILFORD. 

Frank Tilford, born in New York, July 22, 1852, is 
the youngest son of John M. Tilford, for many years a 
prominent mercliant of tliat city. The Tilford family is 
of Scotch descent, its emigration to America having 
taken place during the reign of George II., its locality in 
this country being in the strongly Scotch settlement of 
Argj'Ie, north of Albanj-. For generations the Tiifords 
were tillers of the soil, their first entry upon city life 
being made in 1835, when John M. Tilford, then twenty 
years old, made his way from the paternal farm to the 
city of New York. He obtained a position there in a 
grocery store, worked diligently, and in 1 840, in associa- 
tion with a fellow-clerk, Joseph I'ark, began business in 
a small way, under the firm-name of I'ark & Tilfurd 
This modest beginning was the origin r)f the great estab- 
lishment of to-day, which has grown u]) largely through 
the hard work, business judgment, and unceasing energy 
of John M. Tilford. He died in 1 891, ha\ing continued 
until within a nmnth previously to attend to business 
affairs. 

His son and successor, Frank Tilford, \va.s educated 
in tlie schools of New York, his course of study being 
completed at Mount Washington Collegiate School. 
He then entered his father's establishment, preferring a 
mercantile life to the other fields of emi)loyment which 
he was at full liberty to enter had he chosen. His father 
had become conspicuous among the great merchants of 
New York, and with a desire to sustain and increase this 
reputation the son entered the establishment, still known 



by the original name of Park & Tilford, at the corner of 
Sixth Avenue and Ninth Street, New York. Here he 
began in one of the minor positions, his father wisely 
desiring that he slioukl pass through e\cr)' department 
of the business, and gain a thorough knowledge of its 
details. He was advanced only as he became fully 
familiar w ith the duties of his ev^ery station, and showed 
his competenc)- for a higher field of work. This prac- 
tical course of apprenticeship continued until iS73,when, 
having passed his twenty-first year, and being familiar 
with all the workings of the business, he was placed in 
charge of the store opened that year at the corner of 
Thirty-eighth Street and Sixth Avenue, a responsible 
position for \\hic:li he was well fitted b\- the carefid 
training he had recei\ed. 

Shortly afterwards he began to take part in ihc man- 
agement of financial institutions, being in 1S74 electeil 
a director of the Sixth National Bank. He was at that 
time the youngest bank director in the city. He resigned 
from this position ten years afterwards. In 1876 he 
joined the Real I'lstate Exchange, and entered upon a 
series of operations in real estate in the up[:)cr part of the 
city, which he still continues with a judgment ami fore- 
sight which have brought him much success. The 
North River Savings Bank elected him on its board of 
trustees in 1885, and in 1889 he, in association with Mr. 
G. G. Haven, organized the Bank of New Amsterdam, 
of which he has since continued the vice-president. 

These real-estate and financial operations did not diveit 
his attention from the store. A branch of the Park & 
Tilford establishment was opened in 1885 at P'ifth Avenue 
and Fifty-ninth Street, which was placed under his 
charge. The business continued to grow until in 1890 
it became advisable to convert it into a joint-stock cor- 
|ioration, Mr. Tilfortl, senior, being matle its vice-presi- 
dent. After the death of the latter, in January, 1891, 
Mr. I""rank Tilford was elected to succeed him. 

Mr. Tilford was marrietl in 1S81 to Julia Greer, and 
lias a family of two daughters. He is a member of the 
Union League, the Republican, the Colonial, and several 
other clubs, also of the Society of the Sons of the Revo- 
lution. While taking an interest in public questions, and 
being read)' to aid with monej' antl time an\- jiroject for 
the benefit of the communit)', he has no political as])ira- 
tions, and has declined all propositions to enter official 
life, preferring to confine his energies to business affairs. 
He is social in disposition, simple in tastes, invariably 
courteous in manner, and as a business man posses.scs 
great enterprise and excellent executive powers. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



233 



A. FRANK RICHARDSON. 

A. Frank Richardson, a prominent member of the 
active fraternity of newspaper representatives of New 
York, was born in the Green Mountain State of Vermont, 
and, like many New England boys who have made their 
mark in life, was born on a farm. After a boyish expe- 
rience of life in the fields, and a period of such education 
as the vicinity of his home afforded, he left home when 
but fourteen and made his waj- to the far West, perhaps 
with the idea then ad\-anceil that this was the most prom- 
ising field for energy and enterprise- 

In one of the leading cities of Iowa a daily paper was 
being published by liis uncles, when he decided on a news- 
paper career. He familiarized himself with every detail 
in the make-up of a newspaper, acquiring practical knowl- 
edge of all departments, — the composing-room, the press- 
room, anil, finall}-, the counting-room. Showing remark- 
able aptitude, and being naturally quick and bright, he 
became \ery successful as a collector and solicitor, and 
eventually assumed the management of the paper, more 
than trebling its circulation in a comparatively short 
time. But soon after he became dissatisfied, the field 
being too small for him, and although he had in the 
mean time acquired a proprietary interest in the paper, 
he disposed of it, and came to New York, as the special 
representati\e of a few Western papers, and soon after 
was offered the vice-presidency and Eastern management 
of the Western Newspaper Union. In 1887 he retired 
from the Newspaper Union, and since that time has been 
representing a number of Western, Eastern, and Southern 
papers of known circulation, in some of which he holds 
an interest, among them the Omaha Bcc, Denver (Colo- 
rado) Times and Sun, Louisville Ciniricr-JoKnial, Mil- 
waukee Journal, Boston Herald, Rochester Democrat 
and Chronicle, Elmira Sunday Telegram, Memphis Coui- 
mcrcial Appeal, Louisville Times, and others equally 
well known. 

Mr. Richardson travels three-fourths of the time, doing 
a large and successful business. He continually studies 
the different phases in the newspaper business in this 
country. In 1886 he thought he would add to his stock 




of newspaper information antl experience in Europe, and 
spent three months traveling in England, France, and 
Germany. Since then he has made several trips across 
the "big pond." His home office is in the Tribune Build- 
ing, New York, with a branch office in the Chamber of 
Commerce Building, in Philadelphia. 

A chief secret of Mr. Richardson's great subsequent 
success is that he has never misrepresented tlie circula- 
tion of a newspaper. He demands, before connecting 
himself with any journal, that he shall be furnished with 
positive statements of its circulation at stated intervals, 
and it is thus papers of " known circulation" only that he 
represents. Frank and truthful in all his statements, and 
trustworth}- in his advice to advertisers, he has gained 
the lasting confidence of advertisers, and has become 
the sole special representative of some of the largest 
newspapers in the country, not one of which has ever 
withdrawn the confidence it had placed in his integrity 
and business energy. Mr. Richardson is the best au- 
thority on newspaper circulation in the United States, 
and has the reputation of never misrepresenting it. As 
a result he is the leader in the special agency business. 



234 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




I'HIl.ll' CARPENTER. 

Philip Carpenter, a prominent member of the New 
\'ork bar, comes liercditarily to his profession, being 
lineally descended from a race of lawyers. His father, 
Alonzo P. Carpenter, a graduate of Williams College in 
1849, afterwards practiced law in New Hampshire from 
1852 to 1881. In the latter \'ear, having become one of 
the most eminent lawyers in the State, he accepted a 
position on the bench of the .Supreme Court, which post 
of honor he still fills. Ira Goodall, his grandfather on 
his mother's side, was also a lawj-er of high considera- 
tion, being the leading and most successful member of 
the profession in northern New Hampshire from the 
beginning of the century until about the period of the 
civil war. Another member of the family, Mr. Carpenter's 
uncle, Jonathan Ross, occupies as honorable a position 
in the legal and judicial circles of Vermont, having been 
a justice of the Supreme Couit of that State for twenty 
years past. For the last five years he has been chief 
justice of that court. 

Philil) Carpenter was born at Bath, New Hampshire, 
on March 9, 1856. After receiving the usual district 
school education of New ICngland children, he was 
entered, to prepare for college, at tlic well-known and 
well-endowed academy at St. Johnsburj', Vermont, in 
whicli his father had taken a similar ])re|iaratory course 
thirty years before. In 1873 he entered Dartmouth 
College, where, after a four years' course of diligent stud)', 



he graduated in 1877, having served as class historian 
in his senior year, and on his graduation being appointed 
to write the class prophecies for the commencement ex- 
ercises. 

Mr. Carpenter subsequently entered upon the special 
study of the law, and, having thoroughlj- prepared him- 
self for practice in this profession, was admitted to the 
New Hampshire bar on September 2, 1880, receiving in 
his examination for admission to practice a higher per- 
centage than any of his fellow-students in the half-yearl\- 
class then examined. Selecting Lancaster, New Hamp- 
shire, as his field of practice, he continued there until 
June, 1885, gaining a good clientage and considerable 
reputation as an able lawyer. 

His period of residence in the city of New York began 
in the year above named, he having sought this city as 
offering a wider field for the exercise of his abilities, and 
much better opportunities for progress and pecuniary 
success than could be looked for in his original location. 
Since that date he has continued in New York, steadily 
and \er)' successfully engaged in the practice of his 
chosen profession. During his period of practice in the 
courts of New Hampshire he served as judge-ad\ocate- 
general on the staff of Go\ernor Moody Currier, and in 
addition attained some political jjrominence as an earnest 
and acti\e member of the Republican party, in whose 
principles he has an unj'ielding failh. 

In New York his practice quickly became large, and 
has graduall)- drifted towards " corporation law," to which 
branch of practice his tastes antl o])portunities led him. 
In addition to the important clients in this field which he 
has gained in New York, he is general counsel for the 
largest moneyed corporation in New Hampshire, one that 
has a large branch in New York. I le is also coimsel for 
two New York banks, — one a National, the other a .St.ite 
institution, — and serves as a director in both. The.se are 
but a few of the corporations to whose legal business he 
attends, hi-, practice in this direction having grown exten- 
sive. He has had his offices in the Potter Ruilding, 38 
Park Row, since its opening in 1886. 

Mr. Carpenter is ;i member of x'arious associations, 
inclutling the New York City and New York State Bar 
Associations, and the Union League, the Republican, the 
Colonial, the Manhattan Athletic Clubs and the New 
England Societ)- of New York. I Ic w as married in 
Sej)tember, 1880, to Miss I'ann)- II. Rouse, of Cali- 
fornia, their present place of residence — purchased by 
him in 1S90 — being at No. 165 West ImkI A\enue. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



235 



JOHN BROOME. 

John Broome, Lieutenant-Governor of the State of 
New York in the early part of this century, long con- 
tinued one of the most eminent citizens of the State. 
He was born in New York City, August 17, 1738, being 
of English descent from Herefordshire. The family 
from which he springs was one of the most ancient in 
Great Britain. Its members were loyal and devoted ser- 
vitors of King Charles I., and were banished and their 
estates confiscated by Cromwell. The}-, with many other 
Cavaliers, took refuge in the colonies, and settled in New 
York, where they have since been closely associated 
\\ ith the history of the State. The mother of Governor 
Broome was a French lady, Marie de La Tourette. Her 
parents, Count and Countess de La Tourette, were of an 
ancient Huguenot famii)'. 

The subject of this sketch, having received an excellent 
and practical education in his nativ'e cit\-, early became a 
prominent patriot and soldier of the Revolutionary War, 
in which he bore the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and 
gained especial distinction for his daring and impetuous 
courage. He was particularly remarkable for his antip- 
athy to the Tories ; and it is said of him that, while he 
was exceedingly neat and careful in his toilet, if he saw 
a Tory on the street, rather than meet him he would 
cross to the opposite side, no matter what the condition 
of the street might be. He was universally popular, 
and was the recipient of many flattering public compli- 
ments. Not only was the county of Broome in 1806 
named after him, but in iSoS the name of Bristol, in 
Schoharie Count)', was changed to Broome as a mark 
of respect to him, and between the years 1806 and iSio 
the street in New York Cit\- on which he resided was 
named in liis honor. Governor Broome left to his de- 
scendants not only a distinguished record, but also a large 
amount of wealth, having himself accumulated a fortune, 
which was augmented by valuable grants from the State. 

Colonel Broome organized the Sons of Liberty in 
New York City. He served as the representative of his 
count)- in the New York State Assemblies of 1801 and 
1802, and in 1804 was elected to the State .Senate. In 
the same year he was nominated and elected lieutenant- 
governor, in which he serxed so well for the interests of 
the State, and became so universally popular, that he 
was re-elected three consecutive terms. He was the first 
man who received a vote of thanks from any legislative 
body in the United States for services rendered at the 
outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and was one of the 
committee with John Jav' and Henry Rutgers who framed 
the constitution of the State of New York. He was 
also one of the founders of the famous Democratic 
organization, Tammany Hall. 

Governor Broome was first married to Miss Rebecca 
Lloyd, of Llo\-d's Neck, Long Island, who died in 1802, 




lea\ing four children, John Lloyd, William Temple (who 
was a partner of Aaron Burr), Caroline (who married 
Colonel John W. Livingston, U.S.A., during the War of 
1812), and Rebecca. In his attracti\e colonial uniform 
he appears an exceedingly handsome person, his finely- 
chiseled features and aristocratic bearing proving his 
truly noble lineage and lofty character. 

His son. Captain John Lloyd Broome, was an officer 
in a cit)' regiment as early as 1793. He was one of the 
largest subscribers to the fund for the support of the 
defenses of New York City in the War of 1S12, and was 
for a time stationed at Fort Green, Long Island. Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel John Llo)-d Broome, L^nited States Marine 
Corps, a distinguished veteran of the ci\'il war, is the 
only surviving son of Captain Broome and grandson of 
Governor Broome. He inherited the soldierly traits of 
his ancestors. His record all through the civil war is 
remarkable for bravery. He served with Admiral Far- 
ragut during the Mississippi campaign on the flag-ship 
" Hartford" in all its battles, and was wounded at Vicks- 
burg aiul severeh' wounded at Donaldsonville, Louisiana. 
On the occasion of the occupation of New Orleans he 
hoisted the United States flag there on the custom-house, 
hauling down the rebel flag which he found there dis- 
played. He received three bre\ets for distinguished and 
gallant service and conspicuous bravery during the war. 
His histor)' is a part of the histor)' of the nation, and 
the records of the Navy Department contain ample testi- 
monials to his soldierly devotion to his countr)-. 

Colonel Broome has one living child, Captain George 
Cochran Broome, who also inherits the military spirit 
of his ancestors. Like his great-erandfather. Governor 
Broome, he is a young man of soldierly bearing, ever 
ready to respond to the call of duty. 

Go\crnor John Broome died August 8, 1810. 



236 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ROBERT BONNER. 

Robert Bonnek, the \vclI-kiiu\Mi cditni- imd prdpriclor 
of the Nrw York Ledger, was born in Ireland, a few 
miles from Londonderry, April 28, 1824. He came to 
America in 1839, on the invitation of an uncle in Hart- 
ford, Connecticut, a prosperous farmer and real-estate 
dealer. Soon after his arrival the boy entered the office 
of the Hartford tV/z/v////, as an apprentice to the printer's 
trade, his engagement being that he shoukl recci\e board 
and washing, with twenty-five dollars the first year, and 
ten dollars increase annually. He soon showed his 
ability, quickly surpassing the older apprentices in e.\- 
pertne.ss at type-setting. Being taught by one of the 
journeymen how to feed the press, he would come to 
the office early, set the latest news, send the paper to 
press, and go to work at feeding. For this he received 
e.\tra pay. In 1844, when he left the Coiiraitt office, he 
had a knowledge of all the details of newspaper work. 

On leaving his apprenticeship he went to New \'()rk, 
where he obtained work on the Evciiiiig Mirror, then 
edited by the poets N. P. Willis and George P. Morris. 
In the evenings he wrote digests of the city news and 
.sent them to the Cotiraitt, under the iioiit dc plume of 
"Threads." They were published and paid for, and 
finding his services appreciated by his old employers, 
even after they had learned his name, he was encouraged 
to correspond for papers in several other cities. 

In the Mirror office he showed great skill in setting 
advertisements, a fact which brought him an cilTir from 
the proprietor of tlic Mereltuiits' Ledger to undertake 
that department in his paper, ailvanced wages being 
offered. He accepted, jjroved highly useful to his new 
employers by the satisfaction he gave advertisers, and 
in a short time hired the type of the Ledger, and not 



onlj- printed that paper for the proprietor, but two other 
weeklies. He also contributed spicy articles to the 
Ledger, one short sketch, humoroush- attributed to Dr. 
Chalmers, being copied and praised all over the count:y. 
The young printer, by strict econom\-, had accumu- 
lated a small capital, and on Mr. Pratt, the proprietor, 
proposing to sell out the Ledger, he offered to buy, and 
succeeded in closing a bargain witli him. Mr. Bonner 
had other itlcas than tlmsc nf his late eniplo\-cr. His 
literary tastes antl judgment of the public needs decided 
him to continue the paper on a literary basis. He saw 
instinclixel)- that to attain success he must obtain the 
best talent procurable, and applied for an article to Fanny 
Fern, then the most popular of American authoresses. 
He began by offering her twenty-five dollars a coUnmi 
for a ten-column article. She declined, saying that she 
would write no more for newspapers. He increased his 
offer to fifty, to se\'enty-five, and finally to one hundred 
dollars a colunni, at which she yielded, and agreed to 
furnish the Ledger a ten-column story. This matter 
became public antl helped the jiaper immensely, there 
being much curiosit)- al)()ut the thousand-dollar story. 
I'ann}- E'ern agreed to write regularly for the paper, con- 
tributions from other leading writers were arranged for, 
the new proi)rietor advertised his sheet, now known as 
the Neiv York Ledger, with a boldness before unknown, 
and a rapid and remarkable increase in circulation fol- 
lowed. He obtained contributions, regardless of cost, 
from such men as Bryant, Beecher, Everett, Willis, and a 
host of other celebrities, growing bolder as he proceedeil, 
obtaining from (ieneral Grant's father a biographical 
sketch of his son, from Charles Dickens his onlj' Ameri- 
can story contributit)n, a poem from Tennyson, articles 
from twelve college presidents, from twelve United States 
.senators, from the most eminent juiinialists, etc., while 
giving weekly installments of a number of serial stories 
suited to the tastes of the masses. The result was a phe- 
nomenal success, w hich has lifted the Xeio York Ledger 
to the head of papers of its class, and keeps it there. 

I'ersonallv, Mr. Bonner's one passion is for fast horses, 
his ambition being to own the best trotters in the workl, 
and in this he has succeeded. Since he began driving 
for his health in 1856 he has c.\|)ended jlGoo.ooo on 
horses, buying successively " Mautl S.," for S40,C)00, 
"Sunol,"for $41,000, and other great trotters, in their 
time the fastest in the world. Yet he never bets — nor 
gives any one else an opportunity to bet — on his horses. 

In conclusion, it may be said that Mr. Bonner's bene- 
factions have been many and large. He gave $19,000 
towards a gynmasium for Princeton College, $125,000 
towards the buililing of the E'iflh Avenue Presbyterian 
Church, $10,000 to the sufferers from the Chicago fire, 
and has given man>' thousands in charities of which the 
recipients alone know the particulars. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



m 



CORNELIUS N. BLISS. 

Cornelius Newton Bliss, a proinincnt merchant and 
a leatlcr in tlic Republican jxirt)^ in New York Cit\-, was 
born at Fall River, Massachusetts, whither his father had 
removed from Rchoboth, Massachusetts, lont; the loca- 
tion of the family in this couiilr)-. The American founder 
of the family was one of the early New England Puritans, 
reaching America about 1635. 

Mr. Bliss's father died young, while his son was still an 
infant. His mother married again, her second husband 
being Edward S. Keep, of Fall Ri\'er. In 1840 she and 
her husband removed to New Orleans, leaving the boy 
behind at school. He continued here till fourteen years 
of age, attending the public school and subsequently the 
academy of his native town, and then went to New 
Orleans, where his mother placed him, to complete his 
education, in the high school of that cit}-. 

Mr. Keep, his step-father, was engaged in a mercantile 
business in New Orleans, and after the completion of 
his education Mr. Bliss was taken into the counting-room 
of the establishment, where he remained for a year, gain- 
ing in this interval a fair degree of practical business 
experience. At the end of this period he left New 
Orleans for Boston, where he obtained a position in the 
dry-goods anti jobbing house of James M. Bebee & Co., 
at that time one of the largest dry-goods importing 
houses in the United States. Here the young man 
found an excellent opportunity to complete his business 
education, and displayed an industry, perseverance, and 
ability which quickly made him not only familiar with 
all the details of the business, but indispensable to the 
firm, who recognized in him an assistant of unusual 
powers. 

As a result of their appreciation, Mr. Bliss was offered 
and accepted a partnership in the house, whose business 
quickl}' felt the impetus of his energetic methods. In 
1866 the firm was dissolved. He then became a mem- 
ber of the firm of John S. & Ebcn Wright & Co., a 
Boston house doing a large commission business. This 
concern also quickly felt the influence of his energy, its 
business increasing encouragingly. His connection with 
it was followed b\- his establishment of a branch house 
in New York, which developed with great rapidity under 
his skillful control, becoming in time one of the greatest 
concerns of its kind in the country. Philadelphia also 
became the seat of an important branch. The firm-name 
under which this extensive business was first conducted 
was Wright, Bliss & Fabyan. It was subsequently reor- 




ganized under the title of Bliss, P'abyan & Co. This 
firm still endures as one of the largest and most firmly 
established dry-goods commission houses in this country, 
while its reputation is international. 

Politically Mr. Bliss is an active member of the Re- 
publican party, in which he has risen to a position of 
leadership in New York City. I'ur main^ years past he 
has been prominent in the local moxcments of the jjarty, 
his influence being potent not only in city affairs, but in 
State and national politics as well. He has been promi- 
nent in State and national Republican conventions for 
years. In 1884 he served as chairman of the committee 
of one hundred business men appointed by a public 
meeting to attend the Republican national convention 
and urge the nomination of President Arthur for the 
Presidency. In the following year the State Republican 
convention offered him the nomination for governor, but 
he declined the honor. His name was presented, despite 
this refusal, and a large complimentary vote was cast 
for him. The onh' office he has consented to hold luis 
been that of a member of the International Conference. 

Aside from politics and his immediate business rela- 
tions, Mr. Bliss has made himself prominent in New 
York. He is vice-president of the Fourth National 
Bank, and holds a similar office in the Union League 
Club. He has served as president of the New England 
Society, is a member and vice-president of the Chamber 
of Commerce, and one of the governors and treasurer 
of the New York Hospital. 



31 



238 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CULONHL VINCKNT M. Wll.COX. 

Vincent Mekjs Wilcox was born at Madismi, New 
Haven County, Connecticut, on October 17, 1S28, and 
was descended from some of the oldest and most 
lionored of New Entjland fomilies. Tlic -genealogy of 
the family can be traced back, in Suffolk, England, to a 
date before William the Conqueror. Sir John Wilcox, 
of the reign of Edward III., was the leader of the cross- 
bowmen of the English army in the Erench wars. A 
descendant of his, William Wilcox, came early to Amer- 
ica, and was settled at Stratford, Connecticut, in 1639. 
His son Obadiah settled at what is now Madison, Con- 
necticut, the birthplace of Colonel Wilcox, who is his 
descenilant in the fifth generation. On his mother's sitle 
Colonel Wilcox descends from Vincent Meigs, who came 
from England in 1638, and several of whose descend- 
ants have been distinguished in American histor\-. The 
family is also connected with other prominent New Eng- 
land families. 

Colonel Wilcox spent his youthful dajs on his father's 
farm, receiving a good education, which was finished at 
Lee's Academy in Madison, where he subse<|uenlly 
taught school for three years. Afterwartis he became ;i 
merchant in that town, and served on the board of edu- 
cation, and as justice of the ]ieace, and school and town 
treasurer. His military proclivity was shown in his con- 
nection, as lieutenant, with the Madison Light Guard, 
while with which he had the advantage of a tiiorough 
course of instruction in tactics under General Hardee, 
the author of " Hardee's Tactics." 

In I.S60 Mr. Wilcox removed to Scranton, IVimsylva- 
nia, and was doing a profitable business there when the 
war began. He at once joined a compaii)- of young 
men, whom he instructed in the art of war, and with 
such success that forlv-eight <jut of tile seventy- five be- 



came officers in the Union army. On Mav 13, 1862, he 
was appointed on the staff of General Mej-lert as brigade 
judge-advocate, with the rank of major, and subse- 
quently was made lieutenant-colonel of the One Hun- 
dred and Thirty-second Regiment PennsyKania Volun- 
teers. This regiment was sent to the front in August, 
1862, and first came under fire on September 17, at the 
memorable battle of Antietam. Here it occupied a criti- 
cal jioint, ami was hotly engaged. The colonel fell, ami 
Lieutenant-Colonel Wilcox assumed command, leading 
his men in a fierce bayonet charge that dro\c the Con- 
federates from their position. At the clo.se of the battle 
he was promoted colonel, as a rewaril for his bra\er\- and 
merit. During the subsequent ad\ance Colonel Wilcox 
was prostrated by illness, and narrowly escaped cajHure 
by the enemy. He was then taken to a iiospital near 
Washington, and subsccjuently, after a short leave of 
absence, reported at Washington for duty. Much to 
his disappointment, the examining surgeon refused him 
permission t<i rejoin his regiment, on the ground that 
he was in no comlition to bear the hardships of ser- 
vice. 

Colonel Wilcox being unable to return to the army, 
resigned his connnission in January, 1863, and shorth- 
afterwards accepted a responsible position in New York 
City, with the firm of E. & H. T. Anthony, extensive 
dealers in photographic materials. In 1870 Colonel Wil- 
cox became a member of this firm, and on its incorpora- 
tion se\en \cars later was made secretary of the com- 
l)any. In 1884, on the death of Henry T. Anthony, he 
became \'ice-presidcnt, and in 1S88, in which year lul- 
waril .\nthon\', the foiiiulei' of the house, died, he 
became president antl treasmer of the comi^anj'. 

The business of this company, which is devt)teil tn the 
manufarture, impi illation, and sale of photographic ma- 
terials, is now the largest in its line in the world. It 
occupies four stories of the large buililing No. 59 1 
Broailwa)', and has factories in Hrookl)n, Jersey City, 
Hoboken, and King Street, New York. The house 
issues Anthonys Pliotogrtil^liic Hnllctin, which has a 
world-wide circulation among photographers, and holds 
mniierous medals in attestation of the excellence of its 
productions. Colonel Wilcox has risen to be the head 
of this great establishment, which, in his hands, retains 
all its old ])rominence. He was long an active member 
of the National Photographic Association, and for a 
number of years was chairman of the arbitrating com- 
mittee of the Photographic Stock Dealers' Association. 
He is a member of the Loyal Legion and the Gram! 
Army of the Rei)ublic, and is an eloquent orator, having 
tlelivered telling addresses at several annual reunions of 
I his old regiment. I le has been three times married, and 
has two surviving children, Dr. Reynold W. Wilcox and 
I I'rancis W. Wilcox. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



239 



CHARLES S. SMITH. 

Charles Stewart Smith, a prominent meicliant and 
public-spirited citizen of the metropolis, is a descendant 
of an English family who settled in Connecticut early in 
the colonial ])eriod,antl continued to make New Englanil 
its home until the present generation. Mr. Smith's father 
was a Congregational minister, and pastor of a church 
at Exeter, New Hampshin-, in which town Charles was 
born, March 2, 1832. 

The boy received a good ediication, of an elenientar)' 
character, in the schools of his native town, but was 
withdrawn from school when fifteen years of age to begin 
his business life. He came to New York at this age in 
search of employment, which he found in a ilry-goods 
jobbing establishment. He remained with this house 
until twenty-one j'cars of age, when he left it to enter 
the establishment of S. B. Chittenden & Co., a prominent 
house of that ])eriod. For several years he served this 
firm as their European bu\-er, disjiiaj-ing an ability in 
this direction which fully justified the confidence of the 
firm in intrusting so responsible a duty to so young an 
agent. Later in his business life he became a member 
and the senior partner of the dry-goods commission firm 
of Smith, Hogg & Gardner, whose business grew to be 
\'ery extensive, and which for years occupied a prom- 
inent position in the dry-goods business interests of New 
York and Boston. The prosperity of this firm was in 
large measure due to the abilit\- and activit}- of its senior 
member. Mr. Smith remained connected with it as an 
active member until 18S7, when he withdrew to the 
pri\-atc enjo)-ment of the handsome fortune he had ac- 
cumulated. 

Few of the business men of New York have made 
themselves better known in commercial circles than he. 
This is sufficiently indicated in the fact that for seven 
years he held the position of president of the Chamber 
of Commerce, the oldest and the most influential of the 
business associations of New York. Political!}- Mr. 
.Smith has avoided office-holding, declining offers of 
nonu'nation to the ma\-oralt\- and other posts of dignity, 
\'et he has Ijeen warmly iiiteresteil in public affiirs, and 
lias exerted a beneficent influence upon municipal con- 
cerns. His attention has been particularly directed to 
the great problem of municiiial transit and to the relation 
of the railroads to New York commercial needs. On this 
subject he has written papers and delivered addresses 
which are strikingly lucid and comprehensive, and dis- 




play clear insight into the situation. Considering liis 
limited educational advantages and his subsequent close 
dex'otion to business, the abilit)- manitcstetl in these pro- 
ductions speak strong!)- for his native powers of intellect 
and his attention to study during his business career. 

His retirement from business in 1887 was in no sense 
a withdrawal from activity, but rather that he might 
devote more of his attention to tlie philanthropic, public, 
and other movements in which his interest was enlisted, 
and to which he has continued to give much of his time, 
taking a leading part in the affairs of many prominent 
institutions. Few persons in New York are connected 
with so many institutions of importance than he, and 
few make their years of leisure of more utilit)- to their 
fellow-citizens. In truth, he manages to keep himself 
actively engaged in those duties which ])ropcrl}- fall to 
the care of wealthy retired citizens, but to whose per- 
formance a patriotic and philanthropic spirit is neces- 
sary. 

He is a libeial patron of art, of which he has been a 
close and critical stuilcnt during his long periods of resi- 
dence in Europe, continued obser\-ation having developed 
his judgment in works of art till he has attained a high 
rank among connoisseurs of painting and sculpture. He 
is a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to 
whose collections his artistic taste has proved of great 
advantage. The clubs of which he is a member include 
the Union League, Grolier, Lawyers', Players', Mer- 
chants', and Metropolitan. 



240 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM C. CHURCH. 

Among tlic prisoners released in New York 1)_\- the 
British at the close of the Revolution was Willard 
Church, a native of Mansfield, Connecticut, and a kins- 
man, some degrees removed, of Colonel Benjamin 
Church, the famous Indian fighter. Willard, who had 
starved with Washington at Valle)- Forge, fought with 
Anthony Wayne at Stonj- Point, and witnessed the exe- 
cution of Major Andre at Tappan, New York, settletl in 
New York after the Rc\olution, and his familj-, of New 
FIngland origin, have been associated with that State 
and its fortunes for over a centur)'. Some of Willard 
Church's sons survive ; among the rare examples of the 
sons of Revolutionary heroes still remaining with us. 
One of his sons, Pharcellus, who died in i<S,S6 at the age 
of eighty-five, was a clergyman, ;in author of rei>ut,itinn, 
and an editor of large e,\|)erience. Three of his graiul- 
sons, the sons of Pharcellus, are men of literarx- repu- 
tation, — William Conant, l-'r.mk Pharcellus, and John 
Adams Church ; the youngest of the three, John, having 
a still further re|)utation as a man of science, a " Ph.D.," 
he being widely known in his profession of mining engi- 
neering as a professor at Columbia College, in the State 
University of Ohio, and in Ann Arbor University; also 
by his work in connection with the Comstock Mines, 
while employed on the government survey, ,unl 1)\- his 
introiluction of American methods of mining into China, 
where for four years he sersed on the staff of the famous 
viceroy, Li Ihmg Chang. 

The eldest son. Colonel William Conant Church, de- I 
rives his name from Roger Conant, the founiler of Cape 
Ann Colony and Salem, Massachusetts, of whom he I 
is a lineal de.scend.int in the seventh gcnenilion on hi-. 
mother's side. i 



He was born in Rochester, New York, August 11, 
1836, but has been for the past forty-one years a resident 
of the city of New York, where he has large landed 
interests. During the ci\il war of 1861-65 he ser\'ed 
as an officer on the staff of Major-Gcncral Silas Casey, 
bearing with him on his return to civil lite the l)revct of 
lieutenant-colonel, l^y this milit;ir\- title he is well known 
in navy and ami}- circles as the editor of the Army and 
N^avy Journal, which he established in 1863 with the aid 
of his brother I'rank, who has now for some years been 
connected with the New York Sun, as one of the ablest 
of its brilliant staff of editorial writers. These two 
brothers, William C. and I'r.uik 1'., also established the 
Galaxy Magazine, and, during the ten years from 1868 
until 1878, when it was mergctl in the Atlantic Monllily, 
maintained for it a chief place among our literar\- ])eriodi- 
cals. In connection with his editorial work Colonel 
Church has found time for much literary labor, his name 
being a familiar one in periodicals other than his own, — 
Srrilincr's Magamne, The Century, The North American 
Review, The Forum, and JIarper's Weekly, — to all of 
which he has contributed. He was also the literar\- 
executor ^^'i the late lolin I'ricsson, and is the author of 
the "Life of John pjicsson," |)ublished by Charles Scrib- 
ncr's Sons in 1890 in two octa\-o \-olumes. 

Colonel Church has taken an acti\e ])arl in public 
affairs in New York City, and is a member ;uul trustee of 
the Century Club and the Authors' Club, and a member 
nf the Players' and City Clubs. He is a member of the 
(irand Army, George Washington Post, and was one of 
the earliest members of the Loyal Legion, his insignia 
numbering 130. He was a charter member of the New 
York Commandery, over which he, for two j'cars, pre- 
sideil, in the absence of General Schofield, as its Junior, 
and then as its .Senior, Vice-Commander. He is now 
a member of the Comni,uidery-in-Chief of the Legion. 
He took an active part in the establishment of the 
National Rifle Association, and was for some years its 
president. 

He was, pre\ious to the establishment of the Army 
and Navy Journal, publisher of the New ^'ork Su)i, 
leaving it to enter the military service. 1 b- and his 
brothers also liave, as executors of their father's estate, 
a large proprietary interest in the New York Examiner, 
one of the oldest ;inil largest circulated religious weeklies 
in the coiMitry. in 1882 he was appointed by President 
Arthur go\'ernment inspector for the Northern Pacific 
Railro.iil. He was one of the foimders of the Metro- 
politan Museum of Art in New York, ami is a " l'"ellow 
in Perpetuit)'" of that organization. He was one of the 
founders of the Real Instate Exchange, ser\ing in its 
first board of directors, anil by numerous activities has 
associated himself with the literary business, political 
and social life of the metropolis. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



241 



CORNELIUS VAN COTT. 

CoKNEiJUS Van Cott, postmaster of New York during 
the Harrison administration, was born in that city, Feb- 
ruary 12, 1838, being descended from an honored family 
of the Revolutionary period. He was educated in city 
schools, and has, during all his mature life, been closely 
identified with the public interests of his native city. He 
was put to learn the business of carriage-making, but 
left it while quite a young man to engage in the insur- 
ance business, in which he had secured a position. From 
tlic start he showed marked abilit\' in tliis business, and 
liis merit and integrity were quickl}- recognized and 
rewardcil in his election to the post 'A \-ice-president of 
the /Ftna Insurance Company. 

He became early a member of the Volunteer Fire 
Department, antl after the overthrow of the Tweed Ring, 
he was appointed a member of the 15oard of Fire Com- 
missioners, in which he served from 1873 to 1875, and 
again from 1879 to 1885, during a greater part of which 
period he was president of the board. The department 
impro\cd greatly under his administration, among the 
changes introduced at his suggestion being those of im- 
proved fire-escapes on loft\- buildings, improved exits in 
case of fire for large retail stores and theatres, and im- 
portant alteiations in the fire-boat " William Havemeyer" 
which adtled greatlv to its usefulness. The danger aris- 
ing from electric-light wires on telegraph-poles also 
brought from him an official note of alarm, they having 
destroyed a number of fire-alarms and set fire to various 
buildings. 

Political!}' Mr. Van Cott is a member of the Republi- 
can part)', in which organization he has been active and 
energetic for more than twelve years past as a member 
of the Republican State Committee. His first political 
position was attained in 1887, when he became a candi- 
date for State senator for the eighth district, and was 
elected with a plurality of over four thousand eight 
hundred. The district had, the previous year, given 
the Democratic ticket a plurality of fifteen hundred. 
During his term of service in the State Senate he 
was acti\-e in the introduction of bills looking to 
measures of reform ; among them a bill fa\oring the 
adoption of uniform divorce laws for all the States ; a 
bill giving power to the police authorities to make raids ' 
on opium joints, for the purpose of breaking up this 
unsa\'ory Chinese importation ; a bill pro\iding for a 
reform in the method of granting degrees to doctors of 
medicine ; and one for the repeal of the law prohibiting 




auctions of art objects at night, — a law which had no 
warrant in sense or justice for its existence. His sena- 
torial service ended in May, 1889, he resigning his seat 
in the Legislature to enter upon the responsible duties of 
postmaster of New York, to which important position 
he had been appointed by President Harrison. 

On entering upon his duties as postmaster Mr. Van 
Cott quickly perceived the necessity of certain changes 
in the office. The clerical force was totall)- inadequate 
to the work required to be done, the result being a very 
unsatisfactory performance of the duties of the office. 
His first official act was to demand an increase in the 
allowance for clerk hire, which was readily granted on 
his presentation of its necessity. CXher improvements 
introduced b}- him were in connection with the sub- 
stations, whose facilit)' and number he increased. His 
period of dut)- in connection with this most important 
of American post-offices ended with the close of the 
administration, he having brought to its management the 
sound judgment, earnest activity, and sterling integrity 
which have marked his entire business and political 
career, and leaving the office in a considerably higher 
state of efficiency than that in which he found it. His 
record in this position was one of which he can be justly 
proud. 

Mr. Van Cott is president of the Lincoln Club, and is 
also president of the West Side Savings Bank, which in- 
stitution he helped to organize. He is, besides, president 
of the Great Eastern Casualty and Indemnity Company. 



242 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ALHXANOHR TAYLOR. 

Ali£xandek T.wi.ok was born at Lcitli, ScotlanJ, Au- 
gust 26, 1 82 1, and in tlic succeeding year was brought 
by his parents to New York, in wliich city his fatlier 
engaged in the mercantile business, antl died tlicre in 
1840, leaving a wife and a young faniiK' piactically under 
the care of the elder son, not yet twenty years of age. 
Under the judicious guidance of his mother the \-outh 
at once left school antl engagetl in the acti\e business of 
life, with an energy and native talent that from the start 
promised success. His first position was with a brokerage 
firm in Wall Street, with which he remained until, after no 
long time, it went out of business. I le had gained in its 
service a knowledge of the bu.'-iness, and was sufficiently- 
enterprising to rent at once the office of his recent em- 
ployers and start in business for himself. This was at 
No. 62 Wall Street, or Jones Court, as it was then named. 

From the start he was fairly successful in his business 
venture. At a later date he remf)vetl to No. 76 Wall 
Street, where his two brothers, as they became of age, 
were ailmitted to ])artners]iip with him, the firm-name 
becoming Taylor lirothers. For more than a quarter 
of a century succeeding the business of the house was 
continued, it gaining a high reputation, while its con- 
nections extended to e\ery financial centre of Great 
Ikitain and Ireland. In 1870, having achieved a satis- 
fictory success in his business life, Mr. Tajlor retired 
from the firm, and establishcil his sons Alexander and 
(jeorge in business, under the firm-name of Alexander 
Taylor's Sons. llun, bting desirous of resiiling in 
ICuropc, he accepted a flattering offer made him by the 
banking-house of Clews, ilabicht & C«. to become their 
resident partner in London. This house was at that 
time the fiscal agent of the United .States government 
in Fngland mul iv.is financially of the highest standing. | 



Before his dejiarture a farewell reception was tendered 
him at the Union League Club, which was attended by 
the most eminent business and professional men of the 
metropolis. During his stay in London he was acti\el\' 
engaged in important financial enterprises, particularly 
in aiding the Japanese commissioners to place their loan, 
for which service he received warm thanks antl a \aluablc 
testimonial from the Japanese government. 

The panic of 1873 was severely felt by the house of 
Henry Clews & Co., as the firm was then entitled. .After 
paj'ing out millions to stem the tide of disaster thej* 
were obliged to succumb, a failure in which the Lon- 
don branch of the house participated. Mr. Taylor's in- 
volvement in this business trouble elicited much sym- 
path)-, and he \\ as requested by the trustees of the estate 
to return to New York anil take such .steps as he could 
for the protection of the creditors. At the same time 
he was appointed b\' the British bondhoUlers of the 
Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railroad Com- 
pany their attorney to act to recover their proj)ertj', 
which was seriously endangered by the condition inti> 
which bad management had brought the road. He 
took active hold, foreclosure and reorganization fol- 
lowed, and after four \-cars he [ilaced the concern upon 
a prosperous basis. 

For many years Mr. Taylor was an influential mem- 
ber of the New York Stock I'.xchange, in which he oc- 
cupied various official positions and served on the com- 
mittee to represent it at the Centennial E.xposition at 
Philadelphia. At an early stage in the de\'elopment of 
electric lighting he became strongly interestetl in its 
success, and aided in establishing the Gramme I*!lectric 
Company, in which he served as director and treasurer. 
Another subject in which he was strongly interested was 
that of a canal across Nicaragua. He took an active 
part in the proceedings to obtain support for the enter- 
prise from the United .States go\ernment. and was one 
of the first directors and chairman of the executive com- 
mittee. He h.is still warm faith in the ultimate com- 
pletion of the canal. 

In addition to these interests, Mr. Taylor has been 
actively connected with the affairs of the New York, 
West Shore and Buffalo Railroad, and has acted as 
director in the Ontario and Western and the Walkill 
Valley Railroad corporations. He is a member and 
officer of the St. Andrew's Societ)- and the Burns Club, 
of New York City, member of the Union League Club, 
and I-'ellow of the National Acailemy o( Design. He 
is also connectt-d with the Scottish Union and National 
Insurance Company of .ScotlantI, of which Sir Waller 
Scott was the first governor. Mr. Taylor's career has 
been one of ujjrightness and integritj' throughout, and 
he is held in high esteem b)' all who know him, as a 
true friend and courteous <rentleman. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



243 



ALEXANDER TAYLOR, JR. 

Alexander Taylor the younger, son of the successful 
financier a sketch of whose hfe has just been given, was 
born in New York City, June 22, 1848. He was edu- 
cated at the Charlier Institute and at Churchhill's Mihtary 
Academy at Sing Sing, and at the age of seventeen began 
his business life as a clerk in his fother's office on Wall 
Street. After a few )-ears he was taken into the house 
as a junior partner. 

Four years of e.xperiencc with his father ami uncles — 
the firm of Taylor Brothers — aroused in him a desire to 
venture in business on his own account, and with his 
father as associate he opened at No. 56 Broadway the 
business firm of Alexander Taylor & .Son. This firm 
continued to do business successfully until 1870, when 
tlie senior partner withdrew to go to Europe. Mr. 
Taylor's )-ounger brother, Geoigc M. Ta)-lor, now en- 
tered the firm, which was then stjled .\lexander Taxlor's 
Sons. After about fourteen j-ears of this partnership 
the \-ounger member of the firm withdrew, and the 
business has since been conducted under the firm-name 
of Alexander Taylor, Jr. 

Mr. Taylor as a business man is acti\e and varied in 
his aims. His judgment is quick and accurate, and his 
success has been correspondingly great, while his benev- 
olent disposition has aided the success of man\' of his 
friends. As a prominent member of the Stock Exchange 
he lias won many warm friends, especially among the 
younger members. His energies ha\'e not been solely 
directed to business affairs, his interests being man\-- 
sided, while his attention is \ery strongly directed to- 
wards political reform, and the removal of legislation 
from the hands of professional politicians. An earnest 
Republican in sentiment, he did not hesitate, when offered 
a nomination to Congress in the Twelfth Congressional 
District of New York, to accept it. It was apparently a 
losing fight he had undertaken, the district being strongly 
Democratic, but his personal popularity was such that 
he carried Westchester County bj' several hundred ma- 
jorit}-, and was only defeated in the two citywards which 
form part of the district b)' a small majority. Mr. Taylor 
has continued an energetic and persistent worker for his 
party, and an e.irnest advocate of its principles. 

He is in social life a prominent club man, being a 
member of the Union League and the New York Yacht 
Clubs, the Leiilerkranz and St. Andrew's Societies, the 
Larchmont and Pelham Yacht, the American Jockey, 
and the Coney Island Jockey Clubs. He is in addition 
a Mason, and is a member of various other clubs and 
societies. 




The titles of some of the clubs named show clearK' 
one of Mr. Taylor's proclivities, that in the direction of 
horsemanship and .sport. He is an enthusiastic yachts- 
man and a warm lover of field sports, being particularly 
given to the use of the rod and gun. As a prominent 
horseman he took an active part in founding the Gentle- 
men's Driving Association of New York, his useful ser- 
vices in this being rewarded by the gift of a magnificent 
silver bowl. He was one of the organizers, and is a 
director, of the National Horse Show of America, and is 
one of the governors of the Countr\- Club at Bartow, 
Westchester County, which he helped to organize. 

In 1868 Mr. Taylor married Fannie, daughter of Hon. 
Henry I. Taylor, a well-known New York merchant. 
They have had seven children, three of whom survive. 
He resides at " Chrismere," a beautiful rural mansion 
facing the Sound, and conniianding from its lawn 
.strikingly picturesque views. This mansion has been 
much adorned by the work of Mrs. Taylor's hands, she 
being skilled in painting, and fond of intellectual pur- 
suits in general. Mr. Ta\'lor's tastes are shown in a 
measure in the choice horses, from fast trotters to hand- 
some carriage teams, that occup\' his stables, and in the 
high-bred dogs, of various stocks, most of them prize- 
winners, which fill his kennels. Personally he is a man 
of warmly humane instincts, yielding cheerfully to ever\- 
call of charity, and earnestl)' interested in the wants of 
the poor and needy. To this may be added his pro- 
verbial good-fellowship and warm-hearted courtesy, the 
sum of his qualities making him one of the most popular 
men of his day. • 



244 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN POMEROY TOWNSEND. 

John Pomekov Townsend was born in New iMis^laiid, 
being a direct descendant of Thomas Townsend, wlio 
settled in L\'nn, Massachusetts, in the bcL;iiinin!4' of the 
seventecntli century. He s|)ent liis boyhood in Troy, 
New York, but lias been a resident of tlie cit)' of New 
York since 1850. Bes^iniiini^ his business career with 
the house of Wilson G. Hunt & Co., lie afterwards es- 
tablished the mercantile fnni of Button & Townsend, 
from which he retired in 1882, yielding to the desire for 
leisure and intellectual occupation which a successful 
business career had made it possible for him to gratify. 

In 1S85, having served as vice-president, Mr. Town- 
send became president of the Maritime E.xchange of the 
port of New York, and in the same year was elected 
treasurer of the New York Proiluce l^.xchange. In 1S89 
he was unanimously elected president of the Knicker- 
bocker Trust Company. His successful administration 
of the affairs of this company for five years resulted in 
placing it in a most flourishing condition. He resigned 
the [iresidency in 1894, upon being elected president of 
the Bowery Savings liank, the largest and strongest 
savings institution in the world, and of which fnr tliiity 
years he had been a trustee, for eight years its second 
vice-i)resident, and for ncarlj- twelve j-ears its first vice- 
president. 

Mr. T(jwnsentl is a member of the Chamber of Com- 
merce, a director of the Long Island Railroad, record- 
ing secretary of the New York Society for the Relief of 
the Ruptured and Crippled, a foreign associate and hono- 
rary president of the Society of the Universal Scientific 
Congress of Provident Institutions of Paris, France, a 
member of the Union League, Manhattan, Reform, Gro- 
Her, Down-town, and Up-town Clubs; also a Fellow of 
the National Academy of Design, and a life member of 



the New England Societj-, of which latter he was a 
director for several years. He has never held political 
office, though often invited to assume it, \-ct has always 
taken a deep interest in jiublic affairs ami reform mo\e- 
ments, and wlKiiewr iiucstions have arisen which the 
public have debated with interest, he has in\ariably made 
his views heard on the right side, through his writings 
or in public ilehatc, anil has been, and still is, the trusted 
adviser and confidant of many public men dealing with 
broad questions of state antl finance. He is a member 
of the Connnittee of Sevent)-, which has done such noble 
reform work in the city of New York, antl has served on 
its E.xecutive and I'inance Committees. 

Despite his nian\- business engagements, Mr. Townsend 
finds time to contribute \aluable papers to the press on 
to|)ics of which he is thoroughly master, such as " Postal 
Savings Banks." l^pon the " Silver Question," particu- 
larly, he has written various articles, all original, fearless, 
and convincing. At the public meeting called to protest 
against the Income Ta.x, in June, 1894, he presenteil the 
cause of the savings banks, and is the author of the 
article on ".Savings Banks" in the "Cyclopaedia of Poli- 
tical Science, Political l^cononi)-, and United States His- 
tory ;" also of a ])aper on " Sa\ings Banks ' reatl before 
the American .Social -Science Association, at Saratoga, in 
1877, and of se\eral papers on American Savings Banks, 
presented to the Congress of Provident Institutions in 
Paris, 1878, 1883, and 1889. He has written the " History 
of the Bower_\- .Savings Bank, from its Organization in 
1834 to 1888." With this institution he has long been 
connected and is now its honored head. Both here and 
abroad he is the acknowledged spokesman of the .savings 
institutions of this countrj-, and no representation from 
the sa\ings banks would be considered complete or dis- 
cussion I'lni^lied until his \oice had been iieaiiJ. lie is, 
indeed, consitleied an autiloril)' on financial subil■cl^ 
generally. 

Mi\ Townsenil has been an active and inlliienlial 
member of the Board of Trustees of the University of 
Rochester since 1876, and was the founder of the Town- 
send scholarship, in the department of Political History 
and Constitutional Law, and the author of the b\-laws 
by which the Board of Trustees is goxerned. 

Mr. Townsend was brought uj) in the Episcopal Church, 
but c'.rly in life became a Bajjtist u|)on his own con\'ic- 
tion, and has ever since been acti\'e in the man\- interests 
of the denomination in New ^'()rk City, as president of 
the liaptist Social L'nion, on the advisory board of tin 
Baptist Home Society, and on the missionaiy and eit\' 
mission boards. Since 1864 he has been a trustee of the 
Madison Avenue Baptist Church, serving for si.\ years 
as treasurer, and as president since 1884. In 1892 he 
wrote the history of the Church from its foundation in 
1 848. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



245 



EDGAR KETCHUM, SR. 

Edcar Ketcir'm was born in the city of New York 
in the month of Au<just, iSii, receiving' his education 
in this city, after whicli he entered upon the study of 
the law in tlie office of Daniel P. Ingraham, who for 
many years was a justice in the Supreme Court of the 
State. After his admission to the bar he entered 
actively into legal practice, and subsequently became 
associated with the late James W. Gerard. At a later 
date he entered into partnershi]) with the late Isaac 
Adriance. 

In his legal practice Mr. Ketchum tlc\'oletl himself 
very largely to real-estate law, much of his time being 
given to conveyancing and the examination of titles. 
He had, however, a large practice in the courts. Having 
lived since childhood in New York, and being unusually 
familiar with localities in that city, while his practice in 
real-estate matters gave him a wide knowledge of the 
ownership of property on Manhattan Island, he became 
an acknowledged authorit\- on all questions of title to 
real estate, his advice being frequently sought upon 
matters of this character by fellow-lawj'ers, all of whom 
placed great confidence in his opinion and judgment in 
problems concerning real property. 

For many years before his death, Mr. Ketchum fre- 
quently acted as referee in cases of the greatest im- 
portance, having been selected by the opposing counsel, 
and, at their request, appointed by the court ; and his 
decisions were rarely, if ever, reversed by the court of 
appeals. 

Mr. Ketchum held during his life a number of public 
positions of importance. More than fifty years ago he 
was public administrator in the city of New York, and 
subsec]uently United States loan commissioner, which 
office he held for about twelve years. President Lincoln 
appointed him collector of internal revenue for the ninth 
district of New York City, and in 1867 he received the 
appointment of register in bankruptcy, which was con- 
ferred upon him by Chief-Justice Chase. This position 
he held to the time of his death. 

Mr. Ketchum took great interest in public affairs, and 
was a prominent, conscientious, and fearless advocate of 
the anti-slavcr\' cause in the (la\s when such a belief 
meant social ostracism and occasionally active jjersecution. 
He was also greatly interested in the public educational 
SN'stem of New York, with which he became prominent!}' 
identified, and was an earnest advocate and supporter of 
many other benevolent and patriotic enterprises. The 
House of Refuge, on Randall's Island, W'as particularly 
a subject of his active interest. He served for a long 
time as president of its board of managers, and gave 
much of his time and attention to the interests of this 
important institution. 




He was the [irincipal founder of the Harlem Presby- 
terian Church, and nearly twenty years later the Pilgrim 
Congregational Church, the latter in the year 1861 ; 
manifesting his Io\e of freedom by presenting to the 
church a bell on w hich were cast the words, " Proclaim 
liberty throughout all the land to all the inhabitants 
thereof." This bell is still in the tower of the Pilgrim 
Congregational Church at Harlem. 

Mr. Ketchum's earnest public spirit led him to devote 
much time to these and other institutions of a reforma- 
tory, religious, and educatiimal character. l'"i>r a consid- 
erable term of j-ears he served gratuitously as treasurer 
of the American Missionary Association, and was also 
one of the trustees of the Hamjjton Institute, of Hamp- 
ton, Virginia, one of the most praiseworthy benevolent 
institutions in this country. The Harlem Library was 
for many years an object of his earnest interest. For 
at least twenty-five years he served as a trustee of tliis 
institution, to whose impro\'ement and success he devoted 
his energies and good judgment. The library owes much 
to his active labors and championship, and in tiutli few 
men of his opportiuiities ha\e done more than he for the 
advancement of public interests antl for the benefit of 
humanit}- through Ijenevolent industry and earnestness. 

Mr. Ketchum was married in the month of May, 1838, 
to Llizabeth Phtenix, granddaughter of Daniel Phceni.x, 
a prominent public character of the last century, a sketch 
of whose life we have elsewhere gi\en. They had five 
children, Alexander P., Edgar, Susan (wife of Rev. S. 
Bourne), Daniel P., and John J. Ketchum. Of these, 
Daniel is dead, the others all living. Elsewhere in this 
volume a sketch of Edgar Ketchuni, the younger, is 
given. Mr. Ketchum died in the city of New York, 
March 3, 1882. 



32 



246 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




DANIEL A. HEALD. 

Daniel Addison Heald, one of the leading fire undei- 
writers of the United States, was born at Chester, Ver- 
mont, May 4, 1818. He comes from one of the old 
New England stock, John Hcald, his direct ancestor, 
having emigrated from Berwick, England, and settled 
at Concord, Massachusetts, in 1635. Daniel Heald, 
his grandfatlicr, had the honor of taking part in the 
battle of Concord, and of fighting on the patriot side 
at Hunker Hill; while- his maternal grantlfather, Caj)- 
tain Ebenezer Edwards, was also in the patriot ami)' 
during the siege of Boston, where he tlid soldierly 
duty. 

Mr. Heald's father was a farmer, and he spent his early 
life on the farm, attending the neighboring schools. On 
reaching the age of si.xteen he was sent to Meriden, 
New Hampshire, to prepare for college, and afterwards 
obtained a college education at \'ale, where he gradualeil 
in 1841. lie had chosen the law as his profession, and 
read law with Judge Daggett, of New Haven, during 
his senior college year. He continueil his legal stud)- 
after graduation, and in 1843 was admitted to practice 
in the courts of his native .State. 

Mr. Heald's career as a lawj'cr was soon iliversified 
with other pursuits. Shortly after beginning practice 
he accepted the agency for his locality of the yEtna In- 
surance Company, to which he adiled other Hartford 
companies. He continued engaged for thirteen years 
following in these two avocations, gaining an extensive 
l)ractice as a law)er and a large insur.mce business in 
X'ermont, while his reputation grew in both directions 
till he l)ecame wideK' known. I lis residence in New 



York began in 1856. In that year the Home Insurance 
Compan\-, recognizing his great ability as an underwriter, 
invited him to come to this citj' and take the position 
of their general agent in New York. He accepted, and 
remained steadily engaged with them for twelve years 
in this position. In April, 1868, he was elected second 
vice-[)resident of the company. An election to the first 
vice-presidency took place in April, 1883, antl in 1888 
he was made president of the company, which respon- 
sible [iosition he still holds. 

Mr. lleald has few equals as an insurance expert, his 
legal knowledge aiding him greatly in solving the dif- 
ficult questions which freijuentlj' arise. He is quick in 
thought and nicthotlical in work, clear-headed, and quick 
to decide on the true path out of the troublesome situ- 
ations with which the insurance business abounds. He 
has studied insurance as he studied the law, and as men 
study science, taking broad views on the subject, and 
stri\'ing ti> lift the business up to the dignil)- of a pro- 
fession. 

The Home Insiiiance Company has grown immensely 
during his connection with it, and largely through his 
efforts. I'roni a capital of 5500,000 and assets of 
$872,823, it has grown till it now has a capital of 
$3,000,000 and assets of over 39,000,000. With this 
great development Mr. Heald had much to do. His 
reputation in this field of iluty is not, however, solely 
due to his labor in behalf of this important corporation. 
He is a prominent member of the New York Boanl of 
Unilerwrilers antl the National Board of Fire Under- 
writers, ami has clone much useful work in connection 
with these organizations. The establishment of the last- 
nametl cor|)oration was largely due to him. it being 
founded in 1866, win 11 llic c inipetition for business 
and cutting oS. rates became so great as to threaten the 
very existence of fire insurance. This organization has 
now grown powerful and controlling, and Mr. llealil has 
remainetl from the start a leading figure in its delibera- 
tions. He was chairman of its first e.xecuti\'c committee, 
and the pioneer in its career of progress, proilucing an 
annual tabulation of the results of the insurance busi- 
ness in the United .Slates which forms a series of the 
greatest value. In 18S0 he was elected president of the 
board, anil during the succeeding decade was annually 
re-elected. The annual addresses which he delivered as 
[)resident are able productions, replete with the results 
of observation and study, anil have become part of the 
permanent literature of insurance. At the annual meet- 
ing of the board \y\ 1891 he declined a re-election, and 
withdrew, with a highly flattering testimonial of respect 
and esteem prepared by a committee of the board. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



247 



COLONEL SAUNDERS D. BRUCE. 

Colonel Saundeks Dewees Bruce, tlie subject of 
tlic present sketch, can claim eminent ancestn-, liis father, 
John Brnce, born in 1770, in NorthumberLand, l-'ngland, 
of Scottisli parents, ]ia\ini^ been a direct descentlant in 
the male line from Robert Bruce, the most famous of 
Scottish kings. His mother, Margaret Ross Button, was 
born at Gibraltar in 1772. 

Colonel Bruce has proved worthy of his distinguished 
ancestor. He wa.s born in Lexington, Kentucky, August 
16, 1825, and educated at Transylvania University, from 
which he graduated in 1846. In 1848 he engaged in 
mercantile business, which he continued till the outbreak 
of the civil war, when, being a man of uncompromisingly 
LJnion sentiments, he offered his services to the govern- 
ment, and was appointed inspector-general of the Union 
Home Guard of Kentuck\-. He was subsequently in- 
strumental in ha\ing the Department of the Cumberland 
established, and it was due to his efforts that the army 
of the West secured the services of its two eminent 
commanders, Generals William T. Sherman and George 
H. Thomas. These were but preliminary steps in his 
military career. He next recruited the famous Twentieth 
Regiment Kentucky Volunteers, of which he was elected 
colonel, and during most of the remaining period of the 
war was actively engaged in service. 

While in command of the post at Smithland, Kentucky, 
he built the fortifications at the mouth of the Cumberland. 
His regiment was afterwards orderetl to Louis\ille, Ken- 
tucky, where he was given command of the Twenty- 
second Brigade, General Nelson's division, Army of the 
Cumberland, and marched at the head of this command 
in the rapid advance to the battle-field of Shiloh. His 
brigade was the first in the army to take part in this crit- 
ical battle, crossing the river under fire on the evening of 
Sunday, April 6, to the urgently-needed relief of General 
Grant's beaten and disheartened army. 

In this battle Colonel Bruce was injured by the falling 
of his horse, and went on sick-leave to Louisville. On 
his recovery he was assigned by General Buell to com- 
mand at l^iwling Green, with orders to keep open the 
line of conmiunication at that point. While here he 
directed the construction of the fortifications on College 
Hill, which were deemed ahnost impregnable. Later, as 
commander of the Provisional Brigade, he was ordered 
to Clarksville, Tennessee, where his command cleared 
the obstructions from the Cumberland River below 
Fort Donelson, thus opening water communication with 
Nashville. He was subsequently ordered to Louisville, 
and placed in command of that important post, where he 
was enabled to render signal service to General George 
H. Tliomas in forwarding supplies and troojis. The ser- 




vice thus rendered [)laced rhnnias in a condition to win 
the important battle of Nashville. While thus engaged 
as post commander at Louisville General Sherman rec- 
ommended his promotion to brigadier-general, a recom- 
mendation warmly endorsed by General Grant. But, in 
view of the prejudice of Secretary Stanton to Southern 
men, the recommendation was ncx'cr forwarded nor acted 
upon. 

In the summer of 1864 Colonel Bruce found himself 
reluctanth" obliged to withdraw from the ser\-ice on 
account of heart-trouble. He accordingly resigned his 
commission and went to New York City to reside. Here, 
after a period of recuperation and reco\er\- of his im- 
periled health by rest, he engaged in editorial business, 
founding, on August 5, 1865, the widely-known sporting 
journal. Turf, Field, and Farm, which is still under his 
editorial control. 

In establishing this joiunal. Colonel Bruce entered a 
field in which he was thoroughly at home. He was at 
that time, and has since remained, the best li\ing author- 
ity upon pedigrees and genealog}- of the thoroughbred 
horse, and an adept in matters relating to the tiuf and 
field sports. He is the author and compiler of the 
" American Stud Book," the recognized authorit}- upon 
the pedigrees of thoroughbreds. Of this work six \-ol- 
umes have been issued. He has also published "The 
Horse-Breeder's Guide and Hand-book" and " The 
Thoroughbred Horse." 

Colonel Bruce is a member of the New York and 
Coney Island Jockey Clubs, in whose purposes he takes 
much interest. He also belongs to the American Geo- 
graphical Society, and is a membei'«of many other organ- 
izations. 



248 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHURCH G. WILLIAMS. 

Geokge GiiJiEKT Williams, ijicsidcnl of the Chemical 
National Bank, is of important American ancestry, being 
a descendant of Roger Williams, tiie founder of Rhode 
Island. William Williams, one of tlie signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, was of the .same descent, 
and several other members of the fimilv took part in 
the Colonial ami Revolutionary wars of this country. 
One of these was among the patriots killed at Lexing- 
ton, and anotlier fell at Hunker Hill. Mr. Williams's 
father. Dr. Datus Williams, was the princijial physician 
of Ivist Haddam, Connecticut, for forty years, and here 
the subject of our sketch was born on October 9, 1826. 

Mr. Williams was educated at first at the village scliool, 
and afterwards entered Brainard Academy, at Haddam, 
with the purpose of preparing for college. I lere, how- 
ever, he made the actpiaintancc of Jolm Q. Jones, the 
cashier of the Chemical Bank of New \'ork, who, prob- 
ably recognizing a nali\e business faculty in the boy, 
inducetl him at the age of fifteen to gi\e up his school 
life and accejit the position of assistant to the l)a)-ing ' 
teller of that institution. 

Tills first step in business was made in 1S41. The 
young teller proved well ailapted to iiis position, ajiplj-- 
ing himself from the first to mister the problems of 
banking, and devoting his spare time to a course of sclf- 
etlucation. He retained his post of assist. ml until reach- 
ing his twentieth year, when he was |)romole(l to the posi- 
tion of pa)ing teller, he being the youngest person hold- 
ing that responsible po.sition in the banks of New York. 
At a later date he was maile discount cleik, and in 1S55 
was advanced to the position of cashier, Mr. [ones, to 
whom he owed his initiation in banking, being at th.it time 
the [iresident of tiie bank. This gentleman was now ap- 
])ro,i(;hing advanced age, and being unable to perform ; 



all the duties of his office, the acti\e management of 
affairs fell largely to Mr. Williams. He continued to 
perform the double duties thus developing upon him 
with much abilit\- until 1878, when, on the death of Mr. 
Jones, he was unanimously elected by the directors to 
fill the \acant office of president. 

Since his assum]iti(Mi of this position the Chemical 
National ]?ank has grown steadil)- in surplus and annual 
ili\i(len(ls, and is now in a \'er\- flourishing condition. 
This institution was originally founded in 1823, as a 
chenn'cal manufacturing company, with j)ri\ilege of bank- 
ing, its banking department being on the site now occu- 
])ied 1)\- the National Park Bank. It was reorganized in 
1S44. with a capital of $300,000, and with the policy of 
accumulating a large sur[)lus by paj'ing no dividends for 
five years. The strength thus given the bank brought 
it largely into jniblic fa\or, and its success since then has 
been ])henomenal. while the example thus shown has 
been followed by banking institutions in all ]iarts of the 
countr)', much to their advantage and the strengthening 
of the banking system generally. 

The bank gained as depositors such nun as A. T. 
Stewart, the Lorillartis, and others of equal wealth, 
while some of the leading merchants of New York were 
among its directors. The accounts of the New \\n\< 
Central ;in<l other i<iads were kept there by Commodore 
Vanderbilt, and the New York Herald ahvaj-s kejit its 
account with this liank. The surplus of the Chemical 
National H.mk is now niori' than $6,000,000, and since 
Janiiar)- i, iSSS, it has paid a diviilcnd amounting to 
one humlred and fift_\- per cent, per ainium. This is on 
the original capital of $300,000, the .stock, in conse- 
quence of these high dividends, selling for nearly S4500 
per share. This great tlevelopment is in considerable 
part due to the carefiil management of Mr. Williams, 
who lias handled the funds of the iiistilulion with gie.it 
iudgment and success. 

Mr. Williams is connected with \arious other cori)ora- 
tions, being on the executive committee of tlie Union 
Trust Company, trustee of tlie United States Life In- 
surance Company, and director of the ICaglc H'ire In- 
surance Company, the H'idelit\- and Casualt)' Company, 
and the Pennsylvania Coal Company. During the 1893 
panic, he, as president of the Clearing I louse Associa- 
tion, served on the Clearing House Committee, whose 
services were so useful in tlie restoration of confidence. 
Mr. Williams is also treasurer of the Institution for the 
Savings of Merchants' Clerks, one of the governors of 
the Lying-in Hospital, and a vestryman .md the ireasuier 
of St. Bartholomew's Protestant Lpiscop.il Church. He 
married in 1.S67 Virginia King, daughter of Aaron King, 
of Massaclnisetts. Of his five children only one is living. 
Mr. Williams has been a conscientious anil fiithfid per- 
former of all duties intrusted to his hands. 



MAKERS OF NEIV YORK. 



249 



engai^cd in 



CHARLES W. DAYTON. 

Charles Willouchbv DA^■^()X, postmaster of New 
York City, and loni^ prominent among the public-spirited 
citizens of tiie metropolis, was born in l^rouklj-n, Octo- 
ber 3, 1S46, being descended from an old New England 
famil)-. His grandfather became a leading merchant in 
New York, and his fother, Abraham C. Da\-ton, whose 
tastes were literary, contributed much to the periodicals 
of his day, and was the author of" Last Days of Knick- 
erbocker Life in New York." On his mother's side he 
is descended from Andrew Adams, a colonel in the 
Revolutionar\- War, Speaker of the Continental Congress 
in 1779 and 1780, and chief-justice of Connecticut. 

Mr. Dayton was educated in New York, and in 1S61 
entered the College of tiie City of New York. On 
account, however, of financial reverses to his father at 
the outbreak of the ci\il war, he left college and entered 
a law-office, studying also in the Columbia College Law 
School, where he graduated in 186S. He was imme- 
diately admitted to the bar, and soon had a profitable 
practice. Since then he has been acti\ely 
legal labors. 

Aside from his professional iluties Mr. Daj'ton has 
been \er\- acti\e in metropolitan affairs. He is a trustee 
of the Church of the Puritans, a director of the Twelfth 
Ward ]5ank and the Twelfth Ward Savings Bank, of 
both of which he is the legal counsel, trustee of the Har- 
lem Library and the Harlem Law Library, and presi- 
dent of the " Board for the Improvement of Park Avenue 
above One Hundred and Sixth Street," a work which has 
involved the expenditure of several million dollars, much 
to the public benefit. This work was authorized by the 
Legislature in 1892, largely through his efforts. 

In addition to these corporations he is a member of 
various clubs and societies, including the Harlem Demo- 
cratic Club, and the .Sagamore, Manhattan, and Pla_\'ers' 
Clubs, the Geographical Societ\-, and the Sons of the 
Revokition and the Down-town Association. He was 
one of the corporators of the Post-Graduate Medical 
School. He belongs, in addition, to the Bar Associa- 
tions of the State of New York and the cit}' of New 
York. 

Mr. Da_\ton earl}- took an acti\e interest in politics, as 
a member of the Democratic party. In 1864 he made 
speeches advocating General McClellan as candidate for 
the Presidency, and in 1881 was elected to the State 
Legislature, where he became \er)- promment in the de- 




liberations of that bod\'. Municipal reform w as earnestly 
advocated by him, and the primary election law of 1881 
owed its passage largely to his efforts. He declined a 
renomination, owing to the pressure of professional 
duties. 

In 1882 Mr. Dayton organized the Harlem Demo- 
cratic Club, which has since then been highly inniieiitial. 
In the same year he acted as secretary of the Citizens' 
Reform Movement. On a number of occasions he has 
served as a delegate to Democratic State conventions. 
When Grover Cleveland was nominated for President in 
1884, Mr. Dayton worked energetically in the campaign 
for his election, and was one of the electors. In tiie 
campaign of 1888 he was equally acti\'e, making numer- 
ous speeches in favor of Cleveland not onl\- in New 
York but in other States. One delivered b)' him in Bur- 
lington, Iowa, was circulated as a campaign document 
by the Democratic National Committee. He again be- 
came active for his favorite cantlidate in 1892, and used 
all his powers to aid Cleveland's second election. 

In 1889 Mr. Dayton ser\ed on the Centennial Com- 
mittee of the Washington Inauguration, and in 1893 was 
elected a member of the New York State constitutional 
convention. June 5, 1893, he was nominated by the 
President as postmaster of New York. This nomination 
was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, and was re- 
ceived with the greatest satisfaction by the press and 
people of New York. 



250 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HENRY U. McCORD. 

TiiK family history of the subject of tliis sketch is so 
closely identified with the history of the settlement of 
Sintj Sintj, that some preliminary remarks about this vil- 
lage may not be inapt as introductor\-. In i7cS5,some- 
thint; more than a centurj' ago, there were but three 
ilwelling-houses in Sing Sing. Indeeil, at no long time 
before, the locality had been inhabited in- a Mohegan 
tribe who were known as Sint Sincks. They owneil the 
territory as far north as the Croton River, and a \il- 
lagc occupied by them was known as Sink Sink. This 
title has since been softened into Sing Sing. Among 
the early white settlers of the locality was a family of 
McCords, of whom the subject of our sketch is a lineal 
descenilant. 

The McCord familj-, which has long horni; a respect- 
able position in Westchester Cf)unty, is of Scotch origin, 
its entry into this country being due to four brothers who 
left .Scotland for America before the Re\-olution. I'rom 
them the numerous representatives of the fimil)- now 
found in that county arc descended, lienjamin McCord, 
one of these brothers, was the father of Jordan McCord, 
fither of Lewis, and grandfather of Henr)- I). McCord, 
this branch of the family continuing to reside in the origi- 
nal ])lace of settlement. 

Henry D. McCord was born at Sing Sing, September 
15, 1S36. His o|)portunities of etiucation were limited. 



being confined to attendance at the public .school of his 
native village till he was twcKe years of age, at which 
early period in his life the death of his mother threw 
him ii])()n his own resources for support. He at once 
sougiit emplo\-ment, and managed to obtain a position in 
a grocery store, where, in return for hard work, he re- 
ceived his hoard and the magnificent wages of two dollars 
a month. 

He reniainetl in this situation for the succeeding eight 
years, graduallj- advancing in usefulness and position, 
and also in remuneration. At the end of this term of 
service, ha\'ing attained the age of manhood, and being 
moved b\- ambition for a wider sphere of action and 
better opportunities of success, he made his way to the 
city of New York, where he obtained employment in the 
establishment of W'illiam D. Mangam, situated at No. 92 
Broad Street. He continued with Mr. M.uil^.uii for the 
succeeding fourteen years, gaining a thorough knowledge 
of business and ile\eloping that facultj" to which his later 
success has been due. 

Mr. Mangam died in 1870, bj" which time Mr. McCord 
had accumulated sufficient means to enable him to make 
a business venture of his own. He, therefore, became 
himself the business successor of his late emplo\-er, start- 
ing the same line of trade in the okl store, which he has 
pursued from that time to this with energy anil success. 

In 1S75 he pnichased an estate near his native \il- 
lage of Sing Sing, which has since then remaineil his 
j)lace of resilience. He has also made man\' other pur- 
chases of real estate within tlie limits of ti)c \illage, and 
is to-da\- a large holdei' of pi'operty in this iocalit)'. 
Political i\- Mr. McCord lias avoideil anj' ]iartisanship, 
and though he might easil}- have attaineil official honors, 
lie lias declined nominations offered him on occasions 
when a nomination was equivalent to election. His busi- 
ness, in truth, lias occupied his time and attention too 
e.\clusivii\- to 1)1 iiiiit tile acceptance of other interests. 
Through ills close anil energetic attention it has grown 
until it is now e.\tensi\e and ])rofitable, and his house to- 
day holils a good position among New \'ork mercan- 
tile firms. The energy ami perseverance witii which he 
enters ujion an)' |)roject have been the main sources of 
his success, and he very fairly represents the thorough- 
going man of business. Mr. McCord mairied Esther K. 
Noe, and has a finiilv of fiuir riiiidren, two sons and two 
daus/iiters. 



MAKERS OF XEW YORK. 



25' 



FRANCIS H. LEGGHTT. 

Francis Howakd Leccett was born in New York, 
March 27, 1S40, being deri\ed from an old Westchester 
County family who came to this country in the seven- 
teenth century, and whose history may be briefly given as 
preliminary to that of the subject of our sketch. The 
family can be traced back to Essex County, Tuigland, 
where it dwelt for many generations, the name being de- 
ri\ed from a Papal /cii'atc who li\'ed far back in the family 
line. The first American of the family came to this 
country from Barbadocs. His son married Klizabcth 
Richardson, daughter of a large land-holder in West- 
chester County, New York, and his gi'andson was for 
years mayor of Westchester borough, and one of the 
leading citizens of that district. From this person de- 
scended Abraham Leggett, father of the subject of our 
sketch, and for many years a highly respected merchant 
of New York City, where for half a century he carried 
on a large wholesale grocery business on Front Street, 
and where he aiiletl in founding the Market Bank. 

Francis H. Leggett received a good education in an 
academic institution, upon the completion of which, in 
1856, he began his business life at the age of sixteen as 
clerk in a produce commission house. He continued 
here until 1862, gaining a thorough acquaintance with 
business methods, and displaying that industry and intelli- 
gence to which qualities his more recent rapid progress 
has been due. In the last-named year he went into busi- 
ness on his own account, in partnershij) with an older 
brother, and continued thus associated until 1870, when 
he withdrew from the firm to engage in business with his 
younger brother, Theodore (now deceased), the name of 
the new firm being Francis H. Leggett & Co. 

The business thus started in a modest way grew with 
the most encouraging rapidit)-, increasing so quickly that 
from the original establishment it extended in 1873 to 
occupying three stores on Reade Street. Later it became 
necessary to add a fourth store on Chambers Street, to 
accommodate the large business which had developed. 
The progress here briefly described continued until the 
extended quarters mentioned became too small for the 
great trade of the firm, and it became necessary to gain 
increased room. In i88i the present imposing warehouse 
on West Broadway, Franklin and Varick Streets, ten 
stories in height, was erected, and thoroughly equipped ! 
with every requisite for the handling of groceries on the 
largest scale. 

The house does a large importing business in high- ; 
class groceries, coffees, and teas, while many articles are 
manufacturetl from the raw material or otherwise prepared 




for the trade on the premises ot the firm. In addition it 
has an office in Bordeaux, France. Since the origin of 
the firm three other partners ha\e been admitted, from 
the experienced and trustwortlu- employes of the house, 
the original firm-name being retained. Mr. Leggett con- 
tinues at the head of the concern and is the acti\'e man- 
ager of its great business, over which he keeps an im- 
mediate and careful oversight. 

Aside from his mercantile business, he is a member of 
various financial and other institutions, being a director 
in the Home Insurance Compan\% a trustee in the Green- 
wicli Savings Bank, and a member of the Chamber of 
Commerce, and of the Produce and the Cotton tlx- 
changes. He was formerh- a tlirector of the National 
Park Bank, which position he held for twehe years, but 
has since resigned. 

Recently Mr. Leggett was selected as foreman of the 
special grand jury, which served for three months in 
bringing up the police official bribery cases. His w'ork 
in this body brought him the thanks of the judge ami 
general praise from press and people. 

Aside from his business connections, Mr. Leggett be- 
longs to several social organizations, including the Union 
League, the Merchants', and a number of other clubs. 
He takes a warm interest in the Charity Organization 
Society, or the association of public charities, of this 
city, being a member of its council and a frequent con- 
tributor to its funds. Religiously he is a member of the 
I-"ifth A\-enue Presb)tcrian Church. His country-seat is 
at Stone Ridge, Ulster County, New York, where he has 
an extensiv'e establishment. 



25: 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GHNHRAL HHNRY H. TRHMAIN. 

HiiNRV Edwin Tkk.main, an officer in llu' Ann)- nf the 
Potomac throu<jhout the ci\il war, was born in New 
York City, Nov'onibcr 14, 1840, the son of luiwin R. 
Trcinain, and a member of a figlitint^ famil)-, bein<^ the 
brother of Lieutenant Walter R. Treniain, wlio died in 
the service, and tlic cousin of Colonel Frank W. and 
Major Frederick L. Tremain, both slain in battle near 
the end of the war. General Tremain received his 
education at the Collet^e of the City of New York, 
rjraduatint; in i860, and at once beginning a course of 
legal study at Columbia College Law School. 

While he was thus engaged the war broke out, and he 
immediately (April 17, 1861) enlisted as :i pris ate in the 
New York .Seventh Regiment, served with it during its 
first l)rief campaign, and soon after, in association with 
his brother, recruited a company in New York, and went 
to the front as first lieutenant in the Second Regiment 
of Fire Zouaves (Seventy-third New York V^olunteers), 
which was attached to the famous Excelsior Brigade. 
He ser\ed in the line and as adjutant of this regiment 
till A|)ril, 1862, when, at the siege of Yorktown, he was 
promotetl to the staff of General Nelson Taylor, then 
commanding the E.xcelsior Urigaile, anil as such ser\etl 
during the Peninsular campaign and subse(|uentl)' under 
General Pope; taking [)art in all the ])rincipal engage- 
ments before Richmond aiul in the battles of Pope's 
campaign, ending with the unfortunate second Ikill Run. 

During the last-named battle, while participating in a 
charge, he was taken prisoner, and was forced for a time 
to endure the inhospitalities of Libby Prison ; being one 
of a number held there as hostages to be executed by 
lot in case General Pope continued the destruction of 
Virginia property. Fortunately the cartel for the ex- 
change of [irisoners was just then agreed ujjon, antl after | 



a few weeks' confinement Lieutenant Tremain was re- 
leased on parole, and subsequently exchanged, promoted 
captain, and returned to duty as assistant inspector-gen- 
eral on the staff of General Sickles, now in commantl 
of his old division (Second Division of the Third Army 
Corjis). Lieutenant Tremain received Iiigh commenda- 
tion for liis services in several of the Peninsular enufa<re- 
ments, and his gallantry at the second Bull Run battle 
was warmly praised by his commander. 

He served in the battles of Fredericksburg aiul Chan- 
cellorsville, in the latter as major (liis commission dating 
April 25, 1S63), his gallantry at Chancellorsville being 
so notable that he was specially recommended for a 
brevet. At Gettysburg, Major Tremain, as chief staff- 
officer of the Third Arni\- Corps, gained great distinc- 
tion. In 1864 he served as aide to General Butterfield 
at Chattanooga, took part in the engagements around 
Dalton and at Resaca, and was awarded the Congres- 
.sional Metlal (jf Honor for "distinguished conduct" in 
the latter battle. Later in that ycTxx he was, at his 
special request, assigned to duty with the cavalry corps 
of the Armv of the Potomac, served as aide to Generals 
Gregg and Crook, anil took part in all the cavalry en- 
gagements of the Petersburg campaign till the end of 
the war. He was commended b\' General Crook for 
gallantrv' lUiring this cam])aign, brevetted lieutenant- 
colonel, on General Sheridan's recommendation, at its 
termination, afterwards brevetted colonel. On Novem- 
ber 30, 1865, he was promoted brevet brigadier-general 
of volunteers, and sent on duty to South Carolina, where 
he, in April, i S66, resignetl from the service, returneil to 
New ^'o|■k, and entered ui)on the practice of the law. 

(jeneral Tremain grailuated at Columbia Law School 
in 1867, having ahead)- gained a promising legal busi- 
ness. In 1869 he formed with Colonel Mason W. Tyler 
the well-known legal firm of Tremain & Tjler, now more 
than twenty-five years in active business. He was nomi- 
nated for judge of the Common Pleas in 1870, but ile- 
feated at the polls, his party being in the minority. In 
1881 he was repeatedly voted for by man)' members of 
the Legislature in joint convention for the United .Stales 
senatorshi]). In his law business he has freipiently been 
em[)lo\ed b)' the United States government, and has 
practiced much in the Uniteil States Sujjreme Couit. 

General Tremain has been active as a Re|)iil)lican in 
every Presidential contest since the war. He has been 
public spirited in matters of reform and education and 
against monopoly, and has delivered many admirable 
speeches on those and other toj^ics. He has also contrib- 
uted considerably to the press, and was one of the founders 
and editors of the Daily Lmi.' Journal. He was one of 
the founders of the Grand Army of the Republic in New 
York, and served for a number of years as president of 
the Alumni of the College of the City of New York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



253 



COLONEL FLOYD CLARKSON. 

Floyd Clakkson, a native of New York City, was the 
son of Samuel F. Clarkson, a lending Iaw)-er in the 
metropolis, grandson of the Rev. William Clarkson, and 
great-grandson of Dr. Gerardiis Clarkson, one of the 
most eminent of the early ph)-sicians of Philadelphia. 
The father of the latter, Matthew Clarkson, was ap- 
pointed in 1688 Secretary of the Pro\ince of New York. 
On liis mother's side he was of equally notable ancestry, 
his great-grandfather, William Floyd, having been a 
signer of the Declaration of Independence and a briga- 
dier-general in the Revolution. 

Floyd Clarkson was educated at one of the best 
private schools of New York, and was prepared to enter 
the Universit)- of the Cit\- of New York in 1845. Mis 
preference, however, was for a mercantile life, and he 
persuaded his father to let him forego a college career 
and accept a position offered him in the hardware store 
I if Tracy, Allen & Co. He entered this establishment 
in 1846, and continued there till the retirement of the 
firm from business, when he entered the store of their 
successors, Cornell, Willis & Co., of Cortlandt Street. 
Here he remained till January i, 1859, when he estab- 
lished a business of his own at No. 14 Cortlandt Street. 

His business here jiroved very successful for two years. 
Unfortunately, however, a large portion of his trade was 
with the Southern States, and this was cut off b}' the 
secession of these States in 1S61. The outbreak of the 
war broLight his business to an end, he going to the 
front with the Seventh Regiment of New York, of which 
he li.ul been a member since 1856. He was mustered 
out of this regiment on its return to New York, and at 
once began to recruit for the cavalry service under Col- 
onel De Forest, who hail been commissioned to raise 
three cavalry regiments. He was made major of the 
Sixth New York Cavalry on November 11, 1861, and 
soon after went to Virginia with that regiment, where he 
was in command in a number of raids and skirmishes, 
and conducted a weekly school of instruction for the 
officers uniler him. Throughout the war the men in his 
command were distinguished for their excellent disLipline. 

The pressure of private business, and the impossibility 
of obtaining leave of absence, caused him to resign his 
commission and return to New York in October, 1862. 
In December he was appointed by the governor lieuten- 
ant-colonel of the Fourteenth New York Cavalry, but 
declined to serve. In April, 1863, he accepted the com- 
mission of major in the Twelfth New York Cavalry. 
This regiment was sent to Newbcrne, North Carolina, 
where a series of raids were undertaken, many of them 
successful. In a number of these Major Clarkson com- 
manded. During this service he made several narrow 




escapes, and showed great gallantry, while he experi- 
enced various striking adventures. Yellow fever broke 
out at Newberne in the fall of 1864, the disease attacking 
him. He recovered, however, but on February 21, 1865, 
tendered his resignation, that he might avail himself of 
a promising business opportunity. The resignation was 
not accepted. General Palmer declaring that " Major 
Clarkson is too valuable an officer to be spared now." 
He continued with the regiment till the end of the war, 
when, on April 30, 1865, he resigned and returned to 
New York. A year later he was brevetted lieutenant- 
colonel " for f lithful and meritorious services." 

He now became cashier in the commission house of 
G. W. Van Boskerck & Co., in which position he con- 
tinued until 1S69, when he became secretary of the 
Equitable Savings Bank. This position he resigned in 
April, 1874, and opened a real-estate office, under the 
firm-name of P"loyd Clarkson & Co. In 1886 he was 
elected trustee of the L^nion 1 )iine Sa\ings Bank of New 
York. In the following \ear, on the organization of the 
Riverside Bank of New York, he was elected its president. 

Colonel Clarkson was a member of numerous clubs 
and military and financial organizations. In 18S3 he 
was elected Chancellor of the New York Commandery 
of the Loyal Legion, antl was one of those appointed 
to escort the remains of General Grant to his tomb at 
Riverside. He was prominent in the Masonic fraternity, 
to which he rendered various services, in the work of 
restoring the temple when injured by fire, and otherwise. 
He became a Republican in politics on the nomination 
of General Grant for the Presidency, and was a member 
of several Republican clubs and committees. He died 
January 2, 1894. 



33 



254 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN T. THRRY. 

John Taylor Tukky, an active member of the mer- 
cantile community of New Yorlv City, was born at Hart- 
ford, Connecticut, September 9, 1822, and may claim 
descent from one of the most honorable lines of New 
I'jitjlanil Puritanism. He descends directly through both 
parents from Governor William I^radford of I'Kinouth 
Colony, one of the leading spirits of the " IVIaynower" 
immigrants. t)n his father's side he is a descendant of 
Samuel Terr)-, the original patentee, about 1657, of the 
town of Enfield, Connecticut, and the first white man 
married at Springfield, Massachusetts. Another of his 
ancestors was General John Haynes, governor of Massa- 
chusetts in 1635, and the first governor of Connecticut 
(1639), whose ^^'f^' Mabel Harlakeden, was a descendant 
of Edward III., King of England. 

This does not complete the list of Mr. Terry's notable 
ancestors. He is also linuall)' descended from Governor 
Wyllys, of Connecticut, whose granddaughter, Ruth 
Wyllys, married the Rev. lulward Taylor, Mr. Terry's 
maternal forefather. This divine preached at Westfield, 
Massachusetts, for nearly si.xty years, and his .son was a 
member of the State Senate of Massachu.setts and of the 
privy coinicil of the governor. It may be furtlier said 
of Governor Wyllys, as an interesting jjiece of informa- 
tion, that the famous " Charter Oak," in whose hollow 
trunk the charier of Connecticut is said to have re|)osed 
in safety for twenty months, stood on his grounds and 
in front of his residence. 

Of Mr. Terry's nearer iirotrinitors, it may be staled 



that his great-grandfather, Colonel Nathaniel Terry, of 
Enfield, Connecticut, served through the Revolutionary 
War as major, quartermaster, and eventually colonel. 
He was one of the first to engage in the struggle, leaving 
home in all haste, at the head of a company of fifty-nine 
men, on the morning after the quiet of luifield was 
broken by the stirring news of the battle of Lexington. 
His son, Judge I'^iiphalet Terry, was a member of the 
Legislature of Connecticut continuously from 1778 to 
1812, and lUuing near!}- the whole of this long period 
of thirty-three years officiated as Speaker of the House. 
His son, Mr. Terry's father, Hon. Roderick Terry, car- 
ried on an extensive mercantile business at Hartforil, 
Connecticut, and was president t)f the I'.xchangc Hank, 
of that cit)-. 

Mr. Terry removed to New York Cit}- in 1841, w lien 
nineteen years of age, and entered upon a business career 
there which proved very successful. Two years after 
his arrival he became a partner of Edwin D. Morgan — 
afterwards governor of New York — in the wholesale 
grocery business, continuing connected with him in this 
business for a period of forty years, until the ilealh of 
Governor Morgan in 1883. The business jiroved very 
lucrative, Mr. Terr)- becoming a man of wealth and 
high regard in the community. He has engagetl from 
time to time in financial affairs, and is now a director of 
the American ICxchange Banl<, the liaiik- of New .Amster- 
dam, and the Metropolitan Trust Companv, ami vice- 
president of the Mercantile Trust Compan)-. He has 
also invested largely in other corporations, among them 
the Western Union Telegraph Company, of whose board 
of directors he is a member. We might name various 
other railroad, insurance, and telegraph companies which 
Mr. Terry now serves, or has served, as a director, but 
the above list will suflRce. He has also taken an active 
part in the affairs of benevolent institutions, and is a 
director of the Preshvlerian Hospital and the New York 
Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, 
while he takes a warm interest in the progress of various 
other philanthropic institutions. 

Mr. Terry was married in 1846 to Elizabeth R. Peet, 
of Brooklyn. The great-grandfather of this ladj-, Rev. 
Azael Roe, was taken ])risoner during the Revolutionary 
War, and confined in a sugar house, wheie he was sup- 
plied with footl b)- the father of Washington Irving. 
l'"or the past forty years Mr. Terr)- has resiiled near 
Irvington, which owes its title to the ilistinguished 
author nanietl, his home being .1 beautiful mansion on 
the banks of the Hudson. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



255 



JOHN SABINE SMITH. 

John Sabine Smith, a leading figure in the Repub- 
lican party of New York, was born at Randolph, Ver- 
mont, April 24, 1843. fl'-'' great-grandfather, Captain 
Steele Smith, was one of the most active among the 
early settlers of Vermont, where he became a large land- 
holder. Dr. John Spooner Smith, his father, practiced 
medicine for more than fifty years at Randolph, where 
he became eminent in his profession. 

Mr. Smith was forced to gain an education largely 
through his own efforts, his father having the sparse 
income of a countr\' physician. He worked during the 
summer and attended the Orange County Grammar- 
School during the colder season, entering Trinity College 
at sixteen. Through college he was obliged to work 
his own way, partly by teaching, and to some extent on 
borrowed money. He persisted, however, and graduated 
with first honors at twenty }-ears of age. He then took 
charge of a select school at Tro\-, New York, saving 
enough during his four )'ears thereto repay his borrowed 
money, and stutlying law. Leaving Tro}-, he taught for 
one year in the Harrington School at Throgg's Neck, 
during which time, in 1868, he was admitted to the bar. 
In the following year he settled in the city of New York, 
where he became assistant in the office of William E. 
Curtis, afterwards chief-justice of the Superior Court. 

Mr. Smith soon withdrew from this position and began 
practice for himself, which gradualh' increased until he 
had a large and lucrati\e business. In political sentiment 
he was always an earnest Republican, and has been con- 
nected with the Republican Club of the City of New 
York for man}- years. He has been actively identified 
with its work and management since 18S6, and largely 
instrumental in directing its political activities, holding, 
through his connection with it, the position of a leader 
in his party. He took a prominent part in the formation 
of the Republican League of the United States, consti- 
tuted the special committee in charge of the organization 
of Pennsylvania, and was active in the first national 
con\-ention of Republican clubs, held in New York, in 
18S7. In 1888 he was made chairman of the sub-exec- 
utive committee of the State League, and was practically 
the manager of the League dining the Harrison Presi- 
dential campaign. 

In the same year Mr. Smith was elected one of the 
executive committee of the Republican Club of New 
York City and acting chairman of its campaign com- 
mittee. In 1889 he became chairman of the Committee 
on Municipal Elections, which under his leadership made 
the famous fight for a straight Republican ticket in the 
1890 election campaign. The committee brought out 




the name of Hon. William L. Strong as candidate for 
mayor, and Mr. Smith \igorousI\- urged his nomination. 
In 1 89 1 he was chairman of the Committee of Fifty 
organized to aid the election of J. Sloat Fassett as gov- 
ernor, in which cause the Republican Club made stren- 
uous efforts, holding five great ma.ss-meetings. Mr. 
Smith presided and spoke at all of these meetings. 

In 1892 he was again made chairman of the campaign 
committee of the club, which now raised a fund of 
^15,000, and made a most vigorous canvass, carrying on 
the work throughout the summer and fall. A dinner 
was given him by the club in December of this year, 
in acknowledgment of his brilliant ser\ices. Having 
served for three years as vice-president of the club, he 
was elected its president in 1893. During his term he 
greatly recruited the club membership, and originated 
many new features of its activity, including a series of 
monthly dinners, which have proved very popular. 

Mr. Smith has never sought a political office. He was 
nominated for surrogate in 1892, and received a larger 
vote than any other straight Republican candidate ever 
before named in this city on a national. State, or munici- 
pal ticket. In 1893 he was president of the Republican 
County Committee of New York, and is now a member 
of the Republican State Committee. He belongs to 
numerous societies, including the University, Lawyers', 
Republican, and Church Clubs, the Phi Beta Kappa 
Society, and others. He is president of the Society of 
Medical Jurisprudence, treasurer of the East Side House, 
trustee of Trinity College, and chairman of the committee 
appointed to raise the funds to erect a new science hall 
for this institution. 



2S6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




SIMON STKRNE. 

Simon Sternk, prominent in railroad law ami politi- 
cal economy, was born in Philadcipliia, July 23, 1839, 
and is the son of Henry and RcL,nna Sterne. He was 
educated in tlie Piiiladelphia public scliools, at tlie Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, and University of Heidelberg. 
He studied law under John H. Markland and Judt^e 
Sharswood, of Philadelphia, and was graduated from 
the Law Department of the University of Pennsylvania 
on June 6, 1859, in wliich year he was admitted to the 
Philadelphia bar. He practiced for a short time in his 
native citj', and then removed to New York, wliere he 
was admitted to the bar in June, 1S60, and where he has 
since resided and practiced. 

Mr. Sterne was a member of the famous Committee 
of Seventy, which was prominent in the figiit against the 
Tweed ris^iiitc in 1S70, and also acted as its .secretary. 
1 le drafted the charter known as the Charter of the Com- 
mittee of Seventy and other legislation of that period, 
and devoted about a year and a half to the work of the 
committee, until the election of Mayor Ilavemeyer and 
the passage of laws which drove the Ring from power. 
He was private counsel for Mayor Havemeyer during 
his incumbency. He also claims the honor of suggest- 
ing the law which made election day in New York a 
legal holiday. 

In 1876, Mr. Sterne was appointed by Go\ernor Tildeii 
as one <>f the commission, of which William M. I'",\ails 
was chairman, to devise a plan for the governnuiil of 
the cities of this State. This connnission sat for two 
years, without compensation, and rei)orted a .series of 
amendments to the constitution. 

At the request of a large number of the leading mer- 



chants and bankers, Mr. Sterne delivered, in 1878, a 
lecture on " The Railway and its Relation to Public and 
Private Interests" at Steinway Hall, the mayor of the 
city presiding. As a result of the interest taken in, and 
the general discussion of, the subject, the Legislature 
appointed a committee to investigate the abuses alleged 
to exist in the management of the railwa\s of the State, 
and Mr. Steiiie was selected by the Chamber of Com- 
merce and the New York Board of Trade and Trans- 
portation to act as counsel to conduct the investigation, 
which lasted over eight months. The labor of the com- 
mittee was most searching and thorough, and the charges 
which had been made were full\- sustained. The law 
subseciuently passed to appoint a railroatl commission 
for New York State was drafted bj- him. 

In 1885 the Cullom United States Senate Select Com- 
mittee on Interstate Commerce requested Mr. Sterne, 
who for several successive sessions argued before the 
Committee on Commerce, of the House, upon the neces- 
sity of interstate railway legislation, to remodel and re- 
vise, in conjunction with Mr. Albert Fink and Mr. George 
R. Blanchard, leading railroad experts, the bill drafted 
by the committee. This he did, and the bill which was 
subseiiuentK- passed is now the basis of power of the 
Interstate Commerce Commission. In 1887, Mr. Sterne, 
on the connnission of the President of the United States, 
made a report to Congress on the relation of the go\-ern- 
mcnts of Western Europe to the raihvaj-s, after making 
two successive visits to Europe. 

He has also represented a large number of railways, 
ajid since 1888 has been general counsel for the Missouri, 
Kansas and Te.xas Railway Company. 

Mr. .Sterne's powers as a thinker are wide-spread, and 
he is a xerj- able writer. As early as 1861 he deli\ert-d 
a lecture on " The Tariff: its Evils and their Remedy," 
and from 1862 to 1864 he was consideretl worths- 1)\- the 
trustees of Cooper Union to deliver lectures on political 
economy in that institution. In 1863-64 he was editor 
of the New York Coiiniicnial Advertiser, and was editor 
and proprietor of the Social Science Re^'icxc in 1 865-66. 
He wrote "Representative Government and Personal 
Re|)resentation," in 1871, and "Constitutional History 
anil Political Development of the United States," and a 
number of articles in Lalor's " Cyclopaedia of Political 
.Science and United States Histor)-." He is a frequent 
contributoi- to the reviews, has made man\- adilrcsscs 
before societies ami public bodies, is a patron of the 
arts, anil a member of many clubs and other societies. 
He is a member of the present Committee of Seventy, 
so ])rominent in the reform moxemcnt of 1894. 

In 1870 he married Mathilde Elsberg, sister of the 
late Dr. Louis Elsberg, the celebrated laryngologist, and 
has one ilaughter, Alice .Stirrni-. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



257 



WILLIAM HENRY HALL. 

William Hexrv Hall, one of New York's oldest 
merchants, was burn at Hackensack, New Jersey, July 
21, 1836. He was of English parentage, his father, 
Henry J. S. Hall, of Coventry, England, a watch-maker 
by profession, luuing come to this countr_\- in his youth. 
His mother was of an old Scotch family. After his edu- 
cational period he was placed bj- iiis father, when seven- 
teen years of age, as an apjirentice to the drug business, 
with the firm of Hush & Hillycr, of New York City. 
After remaining there long enough to gain a good work- 
ing knowledge of the business, and to demonstrate that 
abilit}- in commercial affairs w hich distinguished his later 
life, he was offered a better position in the ilrug house of 
Olcott, McKesson & Co., now McKesson & Robbins. 

Mr. Hall remained but a short time in this establish- 
ment, the laudable desire to do business on his own 
account soon leading him into a venture in which he was 
assisted by a liberal loan from his father. He purchased 
Dr. Gunn's retail drug store on Bleecker Street, at that 
time the fashionable quarter of the city. Here he went 
actively to work, advancing the business by every means 
in his power, and displaying that assitUiit}' and persever- 
ance which ha\-e proved in his case the best assurance of 
success. As a result he not onl\- de\-eloped an excellent 
trade in his original store, but in no long time became 
the proprietor of two other drug stores, each doing a 
profitable business. 

Mr. Hall was married in 1850 to Mi.ss Martha M. 
Hitchcock, daughter of Curtis Hitchcock, of New York. 
Shortly after entering upon domestic life he expanded his 
business relations, associating himself in 1851 with Mr. 
John RLickel, and foumling the well-known wholesale 
drug and importing house of Hall & Ruckel, which for 
nearl)' fort\--five years has been one of the leading houses 
ill this line of business in New York Cit_\'. Some fifteen 
j'cars after its establishment Mr. Hall became the sole 
proprietor of this house, and continued so for nearly 
thirty j-ears subsequenth', developing its business with 
tlie energy which he had always shown in his business 
career, and extending its connections to all parts of the 
civilized world, branch houses being established in various 
parts of Europe, Asia, Australia, and elsewhere, and the 
business of the parent house thus greatly augmented. 
The energy, shrewd judgment, and undeviating integrity 
of Mr. Hall were thus crowned with a high tlegree of pros- 
pcrit}', while these sterling qualities in his character were 
widely recognized among his business associates and 
others, and numerous posts of trust and honor offered him. 

He was one of the founders of the Washington Trust 
Company, of which he became a trustee ; was president 
of the L. W. Warner Compan\-, and a director in the 
Fellows Medical Manufacturing Company. He was also 
a member of the Chamber of Commerce, of the New 




York Board of Trade and Transportation, the National 
Wholesale Druggists' Association, and the New York 
College of Pharmacy. The firm of Hall & Ruckel was 
among those which, in 1873, joined in tiie organization 
of the Hoard of Trade and Trans])ortation, and Mr. 
Hall was one of the four members of the boarti who, 
in 1890, effected the provisional organization of its drug 
trade section. Mr. Hall's judgment in all important 
matters of finance was eagerly sought and iiis opinion 
highly valued, while numerous overtures were made him 
to accept leading positions in great enterprises in the 
metropolis. These he invariably declined, saying that 
he preferred to give his undivided attention to his own 
business and his private interests. He was never a 
society man, declining to mingle in club life, though 
repeatedly solicited to join such associations. Having 
lost his wife many years ago, he preferred to devote his 
social hours to the society of his children and a choice 
circle of his friends at his home in this cit}-. 

Although lie had amassed great wealth, Mr. Hall's 
demeanor was as modest and retiring as that of a child. 
In business he was conservative, in character cautious, 
but possessed of a business judgment which enabled him 
greatly to develop his trade. A praiseworthy trait in 
him was his constant sympathy with and interest in the 
welfare of his employes. Rarely was one of these dis- 
charged from his employment, and his kindness to them 
was such that all resi)ected and revered him as one who 
had them always in his fatherly care and consideration. 

Mr. Hall, after more than fifty years of successful busi- 
ness life, died at Budapest, Hungary, June 30, 1894, 
while abroad for the recovery of his declining health. 
He left three sons and two daughters, of whom the 
former, W. J. S. Hall, William PT. Hall, and M. M. 
Hall, with Irad Hawley, were left the e.xecutors and 
trustees of his estate. 



258 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



MILES BRACH. 

Mii.Es liEALii, jiiil^c in the Court of Common Picas 
of New York, was born in Saratoga County, New York, 
in 1840. His father, William A. Beach, had long been a 
prominent and successful lawyer, and was a coiilem[)o- 
rary and friend of the noted advocates Charles O'Conor 
and James T. Hrady. The son, after receiving an ele- 
mentary education in his native place, was entered for a 
classical course in Union College, from which he grad- 
uated with distinguished honor. His parents moved 
during his youth to Troy, where he read law and was 
admitted to the bar in that city, associating himself with 
his father in the legal firm of Beach & Smith, which at 
that period enjoj-ed what was probably the most exten- 
sive law business in Northern and Western New York. 

Mr. ]k-ach quickly displayed an excellent legal abilit}', 
which he developed by hard work in his profession, and 
his reputation as an able and successful lawyer soon 
grew. In addition to his devotion to the law, he early 
displayed a predilection for politics, joining the Demo- 
cratic party in Troy, where he quickly became so promi- 
nent in the political field that he was elected mayor of the 
city, and served two terms in that office with distinction. 

While thus engaged, the business of the firm continued 
to grow, and bj- 1S67 had so greatly expanded that Mr. 
Beach and his father found it desirable to come to New 
York, ill which cit\- the\' would be more accessible to 
tlieir numerous clients throughout the State. Here, upon 
the election of Judge Rapallo to the Court of Ap|)eals, 
and his consequent withdrawal from the law firm of 
Rapallo, Daly & Brown, the Beaches replaced him as 
heads of the firm, wliich now assumed the title of Ik-ach, 
Daly & lirown. Afterwards, on the retirement of Mr. 
Daly, it became known as Beach & Brown. It now took 
full control of the legal business of the \'aiulerbill family, ' 
and, ha\ing alrcaily charge of the law interests of J.iy 
Gould, it controlled the largest railroad business enjoyed 
1))' any legal firm of New York Cit\-. 



On the death of juilge Robinson the legal standing 
of Mr. Miles Beach gained a well-deserved recognition, 
in his appointment by Governor Robinson to fill the 
vacancy thus caused on the bench of the Court of 
Coniinon I'leas. lie acted as judge <?(/ iiitiiiiii till the 
election in the following autumn, when he was chosen 
for this position b)- the suffrages of his fellow-citizens, 
his opponents for the office being Elihu Root and Mr. 
Smythe, recent recorder of the city. Since that period 
Judge Beach has been closely identified with the Su- 
preme Court of the State, he having been appointed by 
each succeeding governor to do ilut}- in connection with 
that high tribunal. 

Judge Beach is \ery high])- considered in New York, 
both legall)- and socially. No man coukl better uphold 
the dignity of the bench, or displa\- higher judicial ability, 
and no man could more reatlily unbend from the stateh" 
and dignified demeanor proper to his office to the urban- 
ity and sociability suitable for life in the clubs and in 
society. His scholastic attainments are of a fine order, 
while he is a skilled connoisseur in art anti literature, 
in both of which he takes an earnest and appreciative 
interest ami pleasure. 

We may quote the follow ing ajiprcciativc remarks con- 
cerning him from a leading Republican newspaper: "Of 
his prominent characteristics, absolute imperturbability is 
most salient. There is no law)-er living who ever .saw 
Judge Beach lose his remarkable repose of manner, or 
who ever saw him disturbeil or ' rattled,' as the \ernac- 
ular has it, by the most involved or incomprehensible 
argument." 

Judge Beach in figure is tall and stateU", with an 
ajipearance of being much \'oungcr than he really is. 
He is fond of walking, making his way tm foot, after 
leaving court, all the w.iy up-town to tlic liiion or 
the Manhattan Club, of each of which he is a mem- 
ber, with no intlication in manner or countenance of 
the hours of hard work he has just completed upon 
the bench. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



259 



REV. HOMER EATON. 

HoMEK Eaton, D.D., junior agent of the Methodist 
Book Concern, and a member of the Troy Annual Con- 
ference of the Metliodist Episcopal Church, is the son of 
the late Rev. Bennett Eaton, of the same conference, and 
was born at Enosburg, Franklin Count)-, Vermont, No- 
vember 16, 1834. His religious feelings were awakened 
by a conversion at the age of sixteen to such an earnest 
extent that he determined to de\'ote his life to the ser- 
vice of the Church, and immediately afterwards began 
a preparatory course of study for the ministry at the 
academy in Bakersfield, Vermont. His studies com- 
pleted here, he entered the Methodist General Biblical 
Institute, Concord, New Hampshire, where he graduated 
as D.D. in 1857. In May of the same year he was 
admitted on trial in the Troy Annual Conference. 

Mr. Eaton soon proved himself an earnest and capable 
minister and a valuable member of the conference, of 
which he was chosen first assistant secretary in 1861. 
This position he continued to hold until 1870, when he 
was elected secretary to the conference, an office to 
which he was re-elected annually for seven consecutive 
years. In 1872 the conference sent him as a delegate to 
the Methodist Episcopal General Conference, held in 
Brookl\n in May of that year. As a part of the pro- 
ceedings of this meeting he was appointed one of the 
fraternal delegates to the General Conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada. He was elected 
a reser\e delegate to the General Conference of 1876, 
and in the same year was appointed presiding elder of 
the Albany district. 

He was thus diligently engaged in pastoral dut\' until 
elected to his present important and responsible position, 
that of book-agent, he being placed, in association with 
Dr. Hunt, in charge of the great Church publishing house 
so widely known as the Methodist Book Concern, and to 
whose prosperity his energy and business ability ha\e 
proved of the utmost advantage. 

As evidence of the greatness of the interests which 
ha\ e thus been committed to the care of himself and his 
able colleague, we may briefly refer to the great annual 
business of this theological establishment and the diver- 
sit}' of the iluties committed to the care of its managing 
heads. 

The Methodist Book Concern has a general catalogue 
of over three thousand volumes, which embrace pub- 
lications for the young, for adults, for the preacher's 
study, for Sunday reading and Sunday-school use, for 
the Christian scholar, many of these works being placed 
by competent critics at the head of their several depart- 




ments of literature, and the proiluction of the ablest 
minds in the Church throughout its history. Among 
these authors we may name Foster, the master theolo- 
gian, Stevens, the brilliant Clunch historian, Whedon, 
the profound Biblical scholar, and Wise, whose books 
for young people have been the delight of thousands of 
households. 

The Book Concern now has two large houses, in New 
York and Cincinnati respectivel)-. The extent and a]i- 
pointmcnts of the New York house we have stated in 
our sketch of Dr. Hunt. The total sales of this great 
publishing establishment amount to over 31,000,000 
annuall}', and the assets of the two houses are worth 
more than $3,000,000. As regards its profits, it paid 
to conference claimants, the veterans of the ministr)-, 
this year the munificent sum of $120,000, it thus 
serving as a highly valuable pension fund for worn-out 
preachers. 

The Methodist Book Concern issues a number of 
very successful periodicals, among which the Metliodist 
Rcviczc has the largest circulation of all re\ie\vs, while 
the Christian Advocate is unequaled in circulation by any 
other religious weekly. There are in addition several 
Sunday-school periodicals, some of them with \er\' large 
circulations, while some of the h\-mnals issued have an 
enormous annual sale. The house has paid for the 
Methodist Church an average of more than $16,000 
annually during its history, and has been of enormous 
advantage to the cause of religion and moral progress. 
For its present prosperity great praise is due to its man- 
agers, Drs. Eaton and Hunt. • 



26o 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



WILLIAM H. SLAY'rON. 

W'li.i.iAM 11. Stavtox, prominent aiiionq; the \ouny;ci' 
nicinbcrs of the New York bar, was born at Sin\-nia, 
Delaware, March 28, 1861, being the son of Charles E. 
and Susan M. Stayton. He early manifested mucli in- 
tellectual ability, which was indicated by his excellent 
school record and by his winning, through competitise 
examination, an appointment to the United States Xaval 
Academy, he having a desire for a career in the navy. 
His record at Annapolis was one of a higli order of ex- 
cellence, he becoming distinguished there for proficienc)' 
in all branches. In 1881 he graduated with honors, and 
was appointed to the North Atlantic squadron, to which 
he continued attached for the succeeding two years. In 
a subsequent examination for the selection of those suit- 
able to remain in the ser\'icc he was one of fifteen chosen 
out of a class of one hundred, and gained so high a 
percentage in his examination that he was privileged to 
choose his corps. 

On July I, 1883, he received the appointment of sec- 
ond lieutenant in the marine corps, and for some time 
afterwards was on duty in New York and Washington. 
Subsequently he was appointed to the " Hartford," the 
flag-ship of the Pacific Squadron, and remained on duty 
in the l-Iastern seas for three years, emploj-ing his leisure 
hours in making himself acc[uainted with court-martial 
procedure, an important step towards his subsequent 
profession of the law. 

In this direction .Mr. Sta\-ton displayed great natural 
aptitude for study, and ailded to this branch of naval 
law that of admiralty legal ])roceeiling, becoming so 
well informed in these subjects that, upon the termi- 
nation of the cruise of the " Hartford," he was appointed 
as.si.stant judge-advocate-general of the navy. In this 
new field of labor he quickly achieved distinction, con- 
ilucting the prosecution against Commodore McCalla, 
of the " Enterprise," for inflicting illegal punishment 
upon subordinates. In this trial he had arrayed against 
him, as counsel for McCalla, the eminent advocate. 



Joseph II. Clioatc. His successful prosecution of this 
suit won him an international reputation, for the trial 
commanded attention in naval circles throughout the 
world. 

After the conviction of McCalla, Mr. Stayton was 
advised by his late legal opponent, who recognized his 
superior ability, to withdraw from the navy and enter 
into legal practice at New York, as a field of much better 
promise for a man of his special talent. This advice was 
accepted. Mr. Straj-ton had already taken a course of 
stud}- in Columbian University Law School, at Washing- 
ton, District of Columbia, and on examination passed 
brilliantly, graduating at the head of his cla.ss. His legal 
career in New York began in 1891, he forming in this 
city a law association with Mr. Rochfort, in which, owing 
to the protracted illness of his partner, most of the labor 
devolved upon himself. Mr. Rochfort died in 1S93, 
leaving Mr. Stayton to continue his practice alone. This 
he did until April, 1894, when he formed a new law 
partnership, constituting the existing firm of Burnett, 
Stayton & 1 lagen. 

Mr. Stayton's practice covers the whole field of civil 
law, but he has shown himself peculiarl}- able in corpo- 
ration and financial law, while in admiralty matters, to 
which his early legal studies were directed, his abilit)' is 
marked and his opinions are quoted as authoritative. 
His views on naval topics, anil, for that matter, on topics 
of geneial public interest, are sought for 1)\- the i)ress 
and eagerly reati b)' the public. 

Mr. Staj-ton's clients include real-estate owners, pub- 
lishers, corporations, and merchants, while he has much 
])ractice in banking and financial circles. As counsel for 
Hetty Green, the well-known speculative millionaire, he 
has conilucteii several suits of much importance. In his 
professional relations with clients he has always |)roved 
trustworthy, while he is hekl in the highest esteem by 
the legal fraternit)-. lie is politicallj* a Republican, is a 
member of the .Sewanhaka-Corinthian. LViKtis', ,\rm\- 
and N;ivy Clubs, ,uul commands a tli\isiiiii in ilu' Lirsi 
Battalion of the N.ival Militia. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



261 



FITZ-GREENE HALLECK. 

Fitz-Greene Hali.eck, one of America's celebrated 
poets of the early days of this cciitur)', was born tit 
Guilford, Connecticut, July 8, 1790, being the descendant 
of Peter Ilalleck, who came from England to New 
Haven, Connecticut, in 1640, and afterwards purchased 
land and settled in Long Island. Israel Halleck, the 
poet's father, was a rojalist in the Revolutionary War, 
antl served with Colonel Tarleton. His mother, Mary 
Eliot, was a lineal descendant of John Eliot, the famous 
apostle to the Indians. She was a woman of high in- 
tellectual powers, and extremely fond of poetry. 

When Fitz-Greene Halleck was but two )-ears of age 
the exploit of two drunken militiamen, who discharged 
their pieces close to his head to astonish him, destroyed 
the hearing of his left ear for life. His disposition to- 
wards poetic composition, perhaps inherited from his 
mother, manifested itself \-ery early, he beginning to 
rhyme as soon as he learned to write. Throughout his 
younger days he was quiet and studious, and refined in 
thought and habits, qualities which remained with him 
through life. He was educated in the Guilford schools, 
and afterwards for six years served as a clerk in the store 
of his kinsman, Andrew Eliot, at Guilford, employing 
his leisure in reading and the composition of poetry, to 
which his thoughts in\oluntaril\' turned. 

Mr. Halleck visited New York for the first time in the 
spring of 1808. In the winter of the following }-ear his 
first published poem made its appearance anon)'mousl)- 
in the columns of a New Haven newspaper. He joined 
the Connecticut militia in 1808, and was made sergeant. 
In the following winter he kept an evening school, whose 
proceeds he employed to purchase books, principally vol- 
umes of the poets. In 181 1 he removed from his native 
town to New York, where, failing to obtain a position, he 
was about to start for Richmontl, Virginia, when he had 
the good fortune of an introduction to Jacob Barker, a 
leading banker and business man of the city, who gave 
him a position in his counting-house, which he retained 
for twenty }'ears. 

He started business on his own account in 18 1 2, in 
company with a kinsman of Mr. Barker, but the depres- 
sion due to the war put an end to his hopes, the firm of 
Halleck & Barker being one of the first to fail. During 
this brief business interval he continued in Mr. Barker's 
office, and remained there until 1832, when he took a 
similar position in the office of John Jacob Astor, where 
he remained until 1849. Mr. Astor left him in his will 
an annuity of $200 a year, which his son, William B. 
Astor, afterwards supplemented by the gift of $10,000. 
With this money, and what he had saved, Mr. Halleck 
withdrew to his native town, Guilford, and spent there 
the remainder of his da}-s. 

Mr. Halleck's first poem published in New York 

34 




appeared anonymously in 1813, in the columns of the 
Coluinbian. The earliest poem admitted by him into his 
published works was written in 1808, and entitled "The 
World is Bright before Thee." Shortly after coming to 
New York he became an intimate friend of Joseph Rod- 
man Drake, author of " The Culprit Fay," an intimacy 
which continued until Drake's death in 1820, and was 
commemorated by Halleck in the exquisite lines com- 
mencing " Gi-een be the turf above thee." In 1819 he 
and Drake joinctl in the production of a series of amusing 
verses known as the " Croaker" papers, and published 
in the Evening Post, which became the talk of the town, 
and have rarely been excelled as successful vers dc societe. 
They were anonymous, Drake writing as " Croaker" 
and Halleck as "Croaker, Jr.," and their authorship 
continued long unknown, though much inquired after. 
" Faimy," j\Ir. Halleck's longest poem, was published 
anonymously in 1 8 19, and became so popular that its 
author was offered $500 for an additional canto. This 
he accepted. 

In 1822 Mr. Halleck made a visit to Europe, where 
he was well received by the celebrities of the day. 
During this journey he wrote two of his finest poems, 
"Alnwick Castle" and "Burns." On his return home 
he wrote his " Marco Bozzaris," the most popular of all 
his compositions. After his final retirement to Guilford 
Mr. Halleck spent his remaining days in leisurely literary 
work. He died November 19, 1867. Various editions 
of his poems have from time to time appeared, though 
his works yielded but small pecuniary returns during his 
life. In 1880, on the eightieth anniversary of his birth, 
a noble granite monument was erected to his memory 
in the cemetery at Guilford, built 1^ subscriptions from 
Br\ant, Longfellow, Whittier, and other leading authors 
of the country. 



262 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




AARON D. FARMER. 

Aaron Dwiciit Farmer, tlic well-known Ijpc-founder, 
was born in Bolton, Tolland County, Connecticut, Janu- 
arj' 1 6, 1811. He received such education as was to be 
obtained at that period in the common schools of his 
native place, and came to New York at the age of four- 
teen, where he fortunately obtained an apprenticeship in 
the type foundry of Ivlilni White, established in iSioat 
the corner of Lombard and Thames Streets, after having ! 
been carried on for six \cars in Ilartford, Connecticut. 
The )-oung apprentice proved very industrious and 
efficient, and was promoted by his employer until he 
finally became manager of the manufacturing depart- 
ment of the business, a responsible ]iosition for which 
his thorough acquaintance with all the details of the 
business well adapted liim. 

At a later date the firm assumed the name of Charles 
T. White & Co., being reorganized with new members, 
and in 1857 it was again reorganized under the busi- 
ness title of I'armer, Little & Co., the boy who in 
1830 had entered the establishment as an apprentice 
being now the acknowledged head of the establishment. 
This advancement was the first reward of abilit\', devo- 
tion to the interests of the firm, and business (pialities 
which raised him step by step from the post of master- 
workman and manager to a memi)ership in the firm, and 
finally to tlie first position in the then im])ortant manu- 
factory. 

The business of the firm had now become large and 
lucrative, the factory employing from two to three hun- 
dred men, while its f)utput was not surpassed b)- that of 
an)' similar concern in this countrv', in every portion of 
which its products were in use by the printing fratcrnit)-. 



Mr. F\'irmer's close sur\ciiiancc o\er the worl< of the 
factory was not relaxed by his membershi]) in the firm. 
F'rom the day he became manager and throughout the 
remainder of his career he continued to give special 
attention to the manufacturing department of the busi- 
ness, devising, as time went on, many important mechani- 
cal methods for the improvement of the product. F'or 
more than fifty years he labored with the close attention 
that nii;^ht ha\e been expected of an employe, but is 
rare!}- gi\en b\- an employer, there being no part of the 
work which he could not hiniscif perform better than the 
most skillful of his worknun. The}' looked iipun him as 
in the truest sense a master-workman, and respecteil him 
accordingly, while in return he treated them as equals. 
This is the true relation which should exist between 
owners and employes, and the one best calculated to 
produce that perfection of work and harmony in relations 
to which success is often due. During his whole career 
Ml'. F'armer ne\er Iiad a strike in his facti>r\-, nor even 
a serious misuntlerstantling with his men, and there have 
been few more harmonious establishments than that 
under his care. 

.All the varieties of t\'pe in use and tlie necessary tools 
for their manufacture were produced under his special 
superintendence and many of them b\' his personal 
ingenuity, including the many forms of [ilain and orna- 
mental type, borders, ornaments, etc., type-casting ma- 
chines, steel punches, matrices, anii other essentials of 
the art, in all nf which his skill and intelligence resulted 
in essential impro\'ements and steps of progress. As a 
result, he in time became known as one of the leading 
t_\'pe manufacturers, iu)t onl)' in this countr\', but in the 
world, and the produce of his establishment became 
favorabl)' known in everj' field of typographical labor. 

Politically Mr. F'armer was an earnest Republican, to 
which party he stanchly adhered from its formation at 
the date of the nomination of Fremont, in 1856, to the 
time of his death. He was never, however, an active 
politician, the demanils t)f his business absorbing liis 
energies. lie was mairied to Sarah Burns, of New 
York, aiul hail a famiK' of two daughters and one son, 
the killer becoming a member of the firm, ami ni>\\ 
being the successor of his father in the business. In 
May, 1892, the firm-name was changed to its ])resent 
title of the A. I). F'armer & Son Tj-pc Comjjany. 

F^^arly in the year 1895 Mr. F^irmer died, having at- 
tained the ripe age of eight)'-four, and gained a reputation 
for business integrit)', honor in his dealings, and a high 
standard of business ethics, that made his loss deeply 
felt b\' those who knew him, and mourned by numbers 
to whom by substantial acts of generosity he had proved 
himself a true antl helpful friend. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



263 



WILLIAM W. FARMER. 

William Wallace Farmer, the present representa- 
tive of the well-known old New York t)-pe foundry of 
A. D. Farmer & Son, the opponent and successful rival 
of the American Type-Founding Trust, was born in 
Brookh-n, Januar\- 12, 185 l. His father, who ilesit^nctl 
to brint; him up to his own business, entered him as a 
student in the Pol}'technic Institute, from which he grad- 
uated in 1865 with a thorough training in the foundation 
principles of a manufacturing career. Like his father, 
he began his special training in business early in life, 
entering the office of the firm soon after graduating and 
serving a term of eleven years' apprenticeship, during 
which he became proficient in every branch of the busi- 
ness and well calculated to succeed his father in the 
careful management which had brought the concern up 
to its high type of efficienc}' and gi\cn it its wide-spread 
reputation. 

Mr. Farmer ma}' be said to have learned the art of 
t)'pe-founding at the bench, and with a completeness 
which rivaled that of his father, and gained him the same 
measure of respect from the employes of the firm. The 
hundreds of workmen who are employed in this old and 
thriving establishment look up to him as a master in his 
art, and yield him that respectful obedience which skilled 
workmen ne\er pay to inefficiency or falsely-assumed 
ability. As the present managing and controlling spirit 
of the concern, Mr. Farmer is abundantly calculated to 
keep it up to the high standard long since set and main- 
tained for it. 

In 1 88 1 he was admitted to the firm as junior partner, 
and is now, since the deatii of his father, the head of the 
establishment, \\'hich in his hands is conducted in much 
of the stable old fashion, though with that regard to 
modern methods which is now necessary to business suc- 
cess. For a considerable number of years the advanced 
age of his father has thrown the care of the business 
largely into his hands. He has proved fully capable of 
sustaining its responsibilities. Without departing in an\- 
sense from the strict old-school principles of commercial 
honor in maintaining perfection of product, he has availed 
himself to the fullest extent of the advantages offered 
b)- new methods and processes of manufacture, and has 
increased the capacity of the factories to adapt them to 
the steadily growing demand, alike from home and for- 
eign markets. He brings to the conduct of one of our 
largest manufacturing industries all the sturdy healthful- 
ness and physical and mental robustness of constitution, 




associated with industry and sincerity, which are sucli 
essential elements of success. These traits of character 
permeate the establishment and inspire the workmen 
with the spirit which should rule in every well-managed 
establishment. Without friction, but with the inspiration 
that comes from contact with youth and ambition, the 
manufactor\- in question goes steadily on in its successful 
career. 

.Such ()ualities as those possessed b\- William W. 
Farmer are the ones the manufacturers of this country 
need for example and guidance. Clear-headed business 
acumen, incorruptible character, honor in dealings, and 
dissatisfaction with any but the best results are the in- 
heritance which the present head of the firm has received 
from his father, and which cannot fail to keep the house 
up fully to its old high place in the conmiercial world. 

Mr. Farmer married young, his first wife being Miss 
Annie Jones, of Brooklyn, to whom he was wedded in 
1868. They had one child, a son, but the mother and 
bo\- both died. He married again in 1888, his second 
wife being Miss Mary Knowles, daughter of E. M. 
Knowles, a well-known W^all Street banker. His son 
b}- this wife also died young. 

Mr. Farmer is a favorite in society, and belongs to a 
number of social institutions. These include the Lotos, 
Colonial, New York Athletic, and Riverside Yacht Clubs. 
He is also a director in the Fulton Club, and a member 
of the Board of Trade. He resides at No. 106 West 
Seventy-eighth Street, New York City. 



264 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HORATIO SEYMOUR. 

HuKATii) Seymour, Governor of New York during the 
civil war, was born at Pompey Hili, Onondaga County, 
New York, May 31, iSlO. Tlie family from which he 
descended were among the first settlers of Hartford, 
Connecticut, and his grandfather, Major Moses Seymour, 
played a distinguished part in the Revolutionary War, 
wliile his maternal grandfather, Lieutenant-Colonel For- 
mal!, was efjually active in the same war. Henry Sey- 
mour, his father, a man of unusual merit and ability, set- 
tled in the then wiUlerness of Onondaga County. Mere 
the pioneers built and endowed an academy, in which the 
future governor received his early education. He was 
.sent afterwards for two years to O.xford Academy, for 
two years to Geneva (now Hobart) College, and thence 
to Partridge's Military Academy at Miildletown, Con- 
necticut, where he graduated. Heing desirous to study 
law, he entered the office of two leading lawyers of Utica, 
and in 1832 was admitted to practice at the Oneida 
County bar and before the Supreme Court of the State. 

Des[)ite this legal study, and the thorough knowledge 
of the law he had acquired, Mr. Seymour never practiced, 
he having inherited a large estate the care of which took 
all his time and attention. He was strongly interested 
in politics, however, and made many acfpiaiiitances among 
the leading men of the Slate, and when Martin Van Huren 
became President he recommended Governor Marcy to 
make Mr. Seymour his military secretary, as one who 
had in him the elements of a popular leader. This ap- 
pointment he held until 1S39, becoming intimate with 
the leaders of the Democratic part)- in the .State, and 
gaining the pojjular favor to that e.xlenl that in 1841 he 
was elected to the Legislature from Oneida County by 
a large majority. In the Assembly he became (juickly 
prominent, makin;,; h'- p'-wer felt b)- his associates, and 



in 1842 was elected mayor of Utica. In the following 
year he lost the election for mayor by si.xteen votes, and 
in the same year was returned to the Legislature, of 
which he became Speaker in the .session of 1845. 

Mr. Seymour's standing in his party continued to grow, 
until in 1850 he received the nomination for governor, 
but was defeated by the Whig and Anti-rent candidate 
b)- a small majority. In 1852, he was again nominated, 
and was this time elected b\- a niajorit\- of nearly twentj-- 
three thousand. His term of scr\ice proved to be one 
of much political disturbance. The Temperance part)- 
succeeded in carrying through the Legislature a prohib- 
itory liquor law, which he vetoed. The repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise had seriously affected the party 
harmon)', while the Whig party was gradually changing 
into the coming Republican party. These discordant 
elements sadl)- troubled the politi'cal waters, )-et Governor 
Seymour met them with spirit and judgment and made 
a highly successful recoril in the gubernatorial chair. 

In 1854 he was renominated, but was defeateil b)' a 
small plurality. He served as delegate in the Demo- 
cratic national conv-ention of 1856, and in the same 
year delivered an address at Springfield, Massachusetts, 
on " The Democratic Theory of Government," which 
was circulated with the greatest success as a campaign 
document. Subsequently President Buchanan offered 
him the ministry to one of the principal lun-opean 
courts, but he declined the honor, and returned to his 
farm ami to those agricultural piu'suits in which he 
always took the greatest pleasure. 

At the outbreak of the civil war Governor Se)-mour, 
though he had opposed the Republican campaign, actively 
supported Lincoln's administration, and announced the 
intention of the Northern Democrats to uphold the 
Union b\- all the means in their power, himself con- 
tributing largel)- to the finul for raising soldiers. In 
September, 1862, he was renominated for goxernor, 
stiun|)ed the State in his own cause, and won the elec- 
tion by a considerable majority. Throughout this ail- 
ministration he was active in enlisting troops, antl during 
the draft riots in New York took judicious and energetic 
measures to restore peace and order to the city. 

In 1864 Governor Seymour was again a candidate, 
but was tlefcated by Reuben E. Fenton. After the war 
he continued prominent in politics, strongly opposing the 
Republican party, presiding over State conventions, and 
in 1868 becoming jiermanent chairman of the national 
convention of his part)-. This con\ention nominateil 
him for President, but at the ensuing election he was 
defeated by General Grant, though obtaining a large 
[jopular vote. Governor Se)-mour never again accepted 
a nomination, but passed the remainder of his life in 
home comfort in his pleasant cottage on the Deerfield 
Hill, near Utica, where he died 1-Ybruary 12. 1886. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



265 



JAMES H. HACKETT. 

James Hexry Hackett, a favorite comedian and a 
native of New York, was born in that city March 15, 
1800. His ancestry in America was distinguished, and 
ranked among the well-to-do citizens of the colonial and 
early national period. His father, who was in comfort- 
able circumstances, gave him a good early education at 
an academy in Jamaica, Long Island, and afterwards 
entered him at Columbia College for a collegiate course. 
On lea\'ing college Mr. Hackett prepared to engage in 
mercantile business, entering the counting-house of a 
relative as clerk with the design of fitting himself for 
a business career. In 1819, when but nineteen }'ears 
of age, he married Katharine Lee-Sugg, a well-known 
actress, a fact significant of his taste for theatrical life 
and indicative of his future career. 

His early venture in life, however, was as a merchant, 
he settling in Utica, New York, where he started a mer- 
cantile business, and carried it on for some time with 
success. Like many others, however, Mr. Hackett was 
not content to advance slowly, but after some experience 
in business returned to New York and adventured on a 
much more ambitious scale than in his Utica venture. 
The result was disastrous. His business failed, and his 
wife, finding their circumstances reduced, returned to the 
stage with the purpose of helping her husband in his 
difficulties. 

Mr. Hackett had long been aware of his possession of 
histrionic powers of no mean order, and was now induced 
to make public use of them w ith the hope that he might 
achieve success as an actor. He accordingly obtained 
an engagement as a comedian at the Park Theatre, New- 
York, and made his first appearance at that house on 
March I, 1826, in the character of Justus Woodcock. 

This debut, while not quite a failure, was far from 
being a success, but he persisted, and two weeks after- 
wards appeared in the character of Sylvester Dagger- 
wood, in which he gave clever imitations of the leading 
actors of the day. These were received with so much 
fuor b\- the Park audiences that he was con\inced that 
he had hit upon his true vocation, and resolved to adopt 
the stage as a profession. He continued to appear in 
a variety of characters, but made his first decided hit 
in October, 1826, as one of the two Dromios in the 
" Comedy of lirrors." His rendition of this character 
was so original and fine as to draw large audiences for 
weeks, and to win him the reputation of being one of 
the most promising young comedians of the period. 

Mr. Hackett visited England in 1827, appearing at 
Covent Garden, London, in April. His reception, how- 
ever, was not what he had hoped for, and he soon 
returned to America, where he continued to appear for 
se\-eral j-ears, principally as Dromio, which was his lead- 
ing character until 1841. In this part his imitation of 




the voice and manner of John Barnes, who played the 
part of his twin brother, was almost perfect. Another 
character in which he became a fa\orite, that of Sir 
John I'alstaff, was first played b\- him on Ma}' 13, 1828. 
Others of his characters were Solomon Swop, in "Jona- 
than in England," Sir Archie MacSarcasm, in " Love a 
la Mode," Nimrod Wildfire, and Rip Van Winkle. This 
last-named part, which was eventuall)- to become the 
finest conception in his histrionic repertoire, was first 
played by him in April, 1S30. 

Mr. Hackett tlid not confine his efforts to the stage, 
but on several occasions became the manager of New 
York theatres, with varying degrees of success. Among 
these was the Astor Place Opera House, of which he 
was manager at the time of the famous Macready riot. 
He was also manager of Castle Garden in 1854, at the 
time of the first appearance at that house of Grisi and 
Mario in America. His career as actor and manager 
proved highly remunerative, and he e\entuall\' became 
one of the richest actors of his time. 

Mr. Hackett paid several later visits to England, 
where his Falstaff was received as one of the best im- 
personations of that character that had ever been seen. 
In America he was a favorite in whate\cr he played, and 
during his life distanced all rivals in popular esteem. He 
was generally original in every character he undertook, 
and nearly always true to nature. His Rip \'an Winkle 
was of admirable conception and artistic delineation, not 
surpassed, if equaled, in naturalness by that of Mr. Jef- 
ferson, though the play in which he appeared was much 
less effective than that employed by the latter actor. Mr. 
Hackett was a strikingly handsome man, of scholarly 
tastes and refined and courteous manners, and had many 
friends among the best people of P^ngland and America. 
He died at Jamaica, Long Island, December 28, 1871. 



266 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLES G. GUNTHER. 

CiiAKLEs GoDFREn GuNTiTER, mayor of New \'oik in 
1864, was born in lliat cit}- on Februar\- 7, 1822, his 
parents bcinj^ Germans by birth, who came to .America 
when young. His father, Christian G. Guntlier, was for 
more than half a century tlie leading fur merciiant in 
the metropolis. Charles G., eldest son of the above, was 
educated at the Moravian School at Nazareth, Pennsyl- 
vania, and on his return to New York completed his 
studies in the Grammar-School Department of Colum- 
bia College, lie was still quite young when his father 
admitted him to his business. Subsctpiently his three 
younger brothers were taken into the concern, and the 
firm of C. G. Gunther & Co., fur dealers, was established 
in Maiden Lane. 

Mr. Gunther's attention was not solely gi\en to lousi- 
ness, politics attracting him strongly. He was Demo- 
cratic in his views, and while still quite }-oung became 
a hard worker in the local affairs of his party, becoming 
a member f)f the Young Men's Democratic General 
Committee. I lis first Presidential vote was cast for Polk 
and Dallas in 1844. He was one of the founders of the 
Democratic Union Club, and on his return from a visit 
to ICurope in 1S52 took an acti\e part in the Presidential 
cam|)aign of that \-car. 

In 1855, on the formation of the Democratic Young 
Men's National Club, under the chairmanship of James T. 
]}ratly, Mr. (iunther was nominated by it as one of the 
governors of the Almshouse, and in the subsequent elec- 
tion led his party ticket by more than five thousand votes, 
a result which strongly demonstrated the po])ularity he 
had attained among the votes of the i)arly. He after- 
wards became president of the board of governors. 

In the spring of iS^fi the Tammany Hall organization, 
recognizing that Mr. Gunther had become a power in the 



councils of the party, elected him as one of its sachems, 
and in the municipal contest of 1861 gave him the nom- 
ination for mayor. It was the beginning of the war 
period. Republican sentiment was \ery strongly devel- 
oped among the people, and Mr. Gunther was defeated at 
the polls by the Republican candidate, George Opdyke. 
He was again nominated in the ma)-oralty contest of 
1863, there being now three candidates in the field. He 
was elected b\- a majority of over seven thousand votes. 

Mr. Gunther assumed the duties of the mayor's office 
on January i, 1S64. He was highly respected by his 
constituents as a merchant of honor and integrit\- and 
a citizen ha\ing the gootl of the municipalit\- at heart, 
and his administration of the office justified the public 
confidence in his abilit\- and trustworthiness. His official 
life was particularly marked by economy in the cmplo)-- 
ment of the public funds, the lavish use of which bj- 
former administrations, and the consequent rapidly in- 
creasing indebtedness of the city, being highly displeas- 
ing to him. By way of giving a telling rebuke to this 
extravagance and misuse of the public moneys he, when 
invited to [oreside over the festival of the New York citj- 
coimcil in honor of the anniversary of Washington's 
birtluki}-, k'ebruary 22, 1864, declined the invitation, 
stating that his reason for doing so was " in order to 
discountenance so far as is in my power the reckless 
extravagance of the times." 

Such an old-fashioned idea of honest)- and economj- 
in office was not to the taste of the politician of that d.iy, 
and the subsequent nomination for ma\-or was given to 
one more in tone with the financial conceptions of Tam- 
man\' 1 lall. .After his retirement from office Mi. ("iimlher 
gave his attention strictK' to business, avoiding an\' active 
particiiKition in ])olitics until 1878, when he was iiuluccd 
to permit the use of his name as a nominee for State 
senator. In the ensuing contest he was defeated, antl 
did not afterwards take more than a quiet interest in 
political operations. 

Mr. Gimthcr in his youthful days became an active 
member of the old New York volunteer fire ilcpartmcnt. 
After the disbandment of this, and its replacement by 
the paid fire department, he became a prominent member 
of the Veteran Association and was electetl its presiilent. 
lie was among the first to recognize the advantages and 
the conn'ng future of Coney Island as a sea-side resort, 
and he built the first steam railway lii.e to the beach, 
much to the dissatisfaction of the conservative old Dutch 
farmers of New Utrecht and Gravesend. He erected 
also a hotel at Coney Island, but this venture was pre- 
mature and proved unprofitable. At a later date he 
built a large hotel at Locust Grove, on Gravesenil Hay, 
which took fire and was destroyed some years afterwards. 

Mr. Gunther ilied at his New York residence Janiiar)' 
22, 1S85, lea\ing a wiilow and four chiltlren. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



267 



RICHARD HHNRY STODDARD. 

Richard Henrv Stoiidakd, .1 favorite Ij-ric poet, was 
bom at Hingham, Massachusetts, July 2, 1825, being 
the son of a sea-captain, who was lost at sea while his 
son was still quite young. His mother married again, 
aiul in 1835 remo\ed to New York, where her son was 
put to learn the trade of iron-moulding. While thus 
engaged during the da)', he sjjent his evenings in reading, 
devoting himself to the best literature obtainable, espe- 
cially poetry. His studies were soon followed by efforts 
at poetical composition and by contributions to the news- 
papers which from the start were recognized as the work 
of a poet of fine powers. His published poems soon 
brought him to the notice of the literary celebrities of 
the day, w ith many of whom he became acquainted, par- 
ticularl)- with Ba\ard Taylor, who remained his friend 
through life. 

Mr. Stoddartl's first xolume of poems, " Footprints," 
was publishetl in 1849. Tliis he afterwards suppressed, 
as indicative of immature powers. In 1852 he published 
" Tlic Castle by the Sea," etc., a work indicating more 
ripened talent, and containing some odes which have 
become American classics. This was followed, the next 
year, by "Adventures in Fairy-Land: a Book of Verses 
for Young People." His pen, however, not bringing him 
a li\ing remuneration, he obtaineil, in 1853, through the 
influence of Nathaniel Hawthorne, a position in the cus- 
tom-house, which he retained until 1870. While thus 
employed he continued active in literary work, publish- 
ing a number of works, principall}- poetical in character. 
These included "Town and Country, and the Voices in 
the Shells" (1857), "Songs of .Summer" (1S57), "Life, 
Travels, and Books of Alexander von Humboldt," with 
introduction by Bayard Taylor (i860), "The Loves and 
Heroines of the Poets" (1861), a work which was very 
favorably received, an J "The King's Bell" (1862), a nar- 
rative poem of high excellence. Others of his works 
were "The Story of Little Red Riding- Hood," a poem 
for children, " The Children in the \\'ood," "Abraham 
Lincoln : an Horatian Ode," " Putnam the Brave," and 
" The Book of the East," a \-olume which contained 
some of the best productions of his pen. 

After leaving the custom-house, Mr. Stoddard became 
confidential clerk for General McClellan, with whom he 
remained for three years, occupying his leisure in a re- 
vision of Griswold's " Poets and Poetry of America," 
which he brought down to date. In 1874 he ser\ed as 
city librarian of New York, and during this year re- 
edited Griswold's " Female Poets of America" and the 
" Bric-a-Brac Series," consisting of biographical sketches 
of writers and painters. 




Aside from his business occupations and his poetical 
productions, Mr. Stoddard found time for considerable 
literary work. From i860 to 1870 he wrote literary 
reviews for the World, doing much critical work of a 
discriminating character. Since 1S80 he has held the 
same position on the Mail and Express. In addition to 
the works named as passing under his editorial hand, he 
has had to do with various others, including " The Last 
Political Writings of General Nathaniel Lyon" (1861), 
"John Guy Vassar's Twent\--one Years ArountI the 
World" (1862), "Melodies and Madrigals, mostly from 
the Old English Poets" (1S65), and a number of annuals, 
translations, etc. Of his literary monographs ma\' be 
particularK- mentioned those on William Cullen lirj^ant 
and Edgar Allan Poe, and his preface to Sir Edwin 
Arnold's " Light of the World." Mr. Stoddard's long 
acquaintance with American men of letters and his reten- 
tive memory render his biographical sketches of literary 
personages highl\- interesting, from the attractive per- 
sonal recollections introduced. In 1890 he issued a new 
volume of poems, " The Lion's Cub, and Other Poems,'' 
which is tlistinguished by the grace of touch and origi- 
nality of handling of his former work. 

As a I\-ric poet Mr. Stoddard has had no superior 
among American writers, his work having a simplicity 
of touch and neatness of finish which few writers can 
rival. Some of his odes are marked by a rich fancy 
and by an imaginative outreach which sometimes arises 
to grandeur. His blank verse is occasionally of unsur- 
passed excellence, among his finest efforts being " The 
Fisher" and " Charon." Mr. Stoddard is still actively 
engaged in literary labors. 



268 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ROBERT DUNLA1\ 

RoRERT DuNLAP was boiii in New York, (October ly, 
1834, Iiis parents bein;r of that sturtly Scotch-Irisli origin 
wliicli lias brought so much good blood into tliis country. 
He received his education in tlic jjublic schools of the 
city, his school life ending while still quite young, when 
he was apprenticed to learn " the art, trade, and mys- 
tery" of hat-making. At this branch of manufacture he 
served out his full time, and after acquiring a thorough 
knowledge of the manufacturing details of the business, 
entered his employer's store as a salesman, and there 
made acquaintance with its commercial characteristics. 
In 1857, fully cquii)|ied with knowledge of all that apper- 
tained to the business, lie adventured on his own account, 
renting a store at No. 557 Broadway, laying in a stock 
of hats, and making such tlispla\' as could be done on a 
capital of less than $2000. 

Such was the modest beginning of a business which 
has since grown to monster proportions, and has no 
equal in its special line in the world. The enterprising 
new merchant knew well the art of establishing a trade. 
Ky a system of judicious advertising and a careful atten- 
tion to the stj-le and ciiaracter of the goods he offered 
to the public he soon became wiilely known and built 
up a profitable trade. He was alert in taking advantage 
of the " up-to\vn" movement of population, occupjing a 
store in the Fifth Avenue Motel as soon as that fashion- 
able caravansary was opened, and through it gaining the 
reputation of being the leader in his line of business. 
The position thus gained he has continued to maintain, 
while he lias manifested an enterprise and readiness to 
avail himself of opportunities whose fruit is seen in the 
great development of his busine.ss. I'rnm his humble 



start in his Broadway store Mr. Dunlap's trade has grown 
until his New York business is now supplemented by 
branch stores in the cities of Philadelphia and Chicago 
and agencies in all the other large cities of the United 
States, while his manufactor)- has developed proportion- 
ally, until to-day his monster factory in l?rookl\-n is said 
to ha\'c no rival in the world in the production of its 
specialt)- of chess hats. It is complete in all its details, 
extensive in dimensions, and hive-like in its activities, 
there being o\-cr one thousand workmen emplo\-ed in 
this single branch of manufacture. 

Mr. Dunlap's business enterprise has not been confined 
to the hat trade, but he has interested himself largely in 
commercial matters outside of his regular line of busi- 
ness. Of these outside ventures the most imjjorlaiU in 
its development is the Dunlap Cable News Company, 
which was organized by him in 1891 for the purpose of 
meeting the demand for a more thorough interchange 
of news between America and Europe, by means of in- 
dependent and unrestricted cable communication. The 
prompt furnishing of the most important items of current 
news b\- this agency took with the public, and in less 
than a }'e;ir the new companj- was firml}- established and 
had come into formidable riwilry with the older ones. 
It was afterwards consolidated with an European organ- 
ization, and took its present name of the " Dalziel's News 
Agency in luirope." 

This is but one of Mi'. Dunlap's various enterprises. 
In 1890 betook an active jiart in the establishment of the 
illustrated weekly Truth. At a later date he purchased 
the entire plant of this ])opular periodical, jiut into it his 
energ)- anil juilgnieiit, and has since brought it into a 
phenomenal slate of prosperity. He has also interested 
himself in other enterprises, some started, others fostered, 
b)' him, anil in e\ei'}- case with the success which seems 
to come to everj'thing he touches, anil which is the nat- 
ural result of his clearness of business judgment and 
enterjirise in presenting his ventures to the public in an 
attractive sha[)c. 

Mr. Dunlap is an ajipreciativc patron of the drama 
and a lover of art. h'or )'ears he has been engageil in 
the collection of art treasures, and now has a gallerj- of 
rare examples, gathered from all quarters of art pro- 
chiclion. He is a I'Yllow of the Metropolitan Museum 
j of Art, the National .\cademy of Design, and the .Ameri- 
can Museum of Natural History, a member of the 
American (jeographical Society, and belongs to the 
Manhattan, New York, Colonial, Coney Island Jockey, 
and New York Yacht Clubs. lie was married in 
i860 to a daughter of Dr. T. II. Ikirras, of l'"rench 
Huguenot descent, and has a family of four daughters 
ami one son, the latter being associated with him in 
business. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



269 



JUDGH WILLIAM MITCHELL. 

William Alri'diELL, formerly presidint^r justice of the 
Supreme Court of New York, was born in New York 
City, February 24, i8oi,his father. Rev. Edward Mitchell, 
having come in 1791 from Coleraine, Ireland, to this 
country, where for many years he served as pastor of the 
Society of the United Christians. Judge Mitchell was in 
boyhood of thoughtful and studious habits, and proved 
a very apt and faithful scholar in his course of prepa- 
ration for college, while in his subsequent stLidies in 
Columbia College he became proficient in all studies, and 
particular!}' in the classics and mathematics, receiving 
each year the diploma awarded for liighest excellence. 
He graduated in 1820, at the head of his class and with 
all the honors. In addition to his graduation degree, the 
college conferred on him in 1823 the degree of A.M., 
and in 1863 the honorary degree of LL.D. 

On leaving college he pursued a course of legal study 
in the office of William Slosson, studying the law with 
unusual thoroughness, and gaining a broad knowledge 
of its history and principles. On his admission to the 
bar, in 1823, he was deeply versed in all that was to be 
learned of the law from books, and quickly became rec- 
ognized as a law)'er of unusual learning and ability. 
His practice grew rapid!)-, and he gained great experi- 
ence and had much success in commercial law cases, 
and in litigation relating to real estate, wills, and trusts. 
He edited, and published in 1841, an excellent edition of 
Blackstone's " Commentaries," with references to Ameri- 
can cases. 

Judge Mitchell quickly acquired the respect and con- 
fidence of his clients and of the profession, and in 1S40 
was appointed to the important post of master in chancer}-, 
a position for which he was well suited, and in which he 
had an exceptionally large practice. He tried numerous 
difficult and important cases, and \\it!i such judgment 
and ability as to give him ver}' high standing in the legal 
fraternity. His judicial powers were so marked and be- 
came so fully recognized that liis name was widely talked 
of for a judgeship in the higher courts, and in 1849 he 
was elected a justice of the Supreme Court for the First 
Judicial District of the State. This position he filled 
with eminent ability until 1858, during which period he 
sat as a judge of the Court of Appeals for the year 1856. 
He resumed his position in the Supreme Court in 1857, 
and became its presiding justice. 

Judge Mitchell retired from the .Supreme Court in 
1858, but continued to perform judicial duties dining the 
remainder of his long life, cases being frequently referred 
to him for hearing, trial, and decision by the action of 




the courts, the bar, and suitors. He held court regularly 
from day to day as a referee, and his " calendar" was 
always fiili. There could be no higher testimony to his 
learning, uprightness, and judicial wisdom than this refer- 
ence to him by the courts, or by the wish of the [KU'ties 
concerned, of important cases to be tried and decided. 
During his whole remaining life he was thus, by the free 
selection of his fellow-citizens, a dispenser of etjuity, sit- 
ting in judgment between his fellow-men. 

As a judge he possessed the highest natural and ac- 
quired qualifications, and won a wide reputation. He 
was untiringly industrious and methodical, had a clear, 
active, yet cautious and deliberate intellect, and was digni- 
fied and intelligent, but of bene\'olent aspect in his ap- 
pearance on the bench. He was quick in discovering 
the equity of cases brought before him, and was ready 
in appl}'ing the principles of law and the decisions of 
courts in favor and support of the rightful cause. His 
honesty and integrity were throughout unimpeachable. 

Judge Mitchell's studies and learning were not con- 
fined to the law. He read constantly, was thoroughly 
versed in history and literature, was an excellent mathe- 
matician, and a classical scholar of unusual powers, his 
college familiarity with the Latin and Greek authors 
being continued through life. Personally no man was 
ever more highly esteemed and respected. His charity 
and kindness of heart made him unsuspicious and trust- 
ful, but he had no tolerance for lack of truth, and was 
inflexible in maintaining what he believed to be true and 
right. He lived to a good old life, dying on the 6th of 
October, 1886, in the eighty-si.xth }ear of his age. 



35 



270 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 





CHARLHS R. OTIS. 

CiiAUi.Es R. Otis, oldest son of the notctl imcntor 
Elisha G. Otis, was born in Troy, New York, April 29, 
1835. He attended school at Halifax, Vermont, and in 
New York, after his father's removal to that city. He 
early manifested what seemed a hereditarj' inclination to 
machine work, and entered the factorj' under his father's 
direction at the ajje of thirteen, where he leained the 
trade of a machinist, and remained connecteii with tlie 
business established by his father until lie retired in 1890. 

When fifteen years of atje he manifested a passion for 
steam-engines, and secured a position as enj^ineer in the 
Hudson City factory, wliere his father was then engaged. 
The vision of steamers coming aiul going, which could 
be seen on the waters commanded from the factory 
windows, aroused in him a strong desire to become chief 
engineer on a North River or ocean steamer, a fancy 
which he entertained for several years, and for wiiich he 
prepared himself by study. The subsequent demand 
for elevators, however, after his father had made his 
notable invention, changed the current of his thouglits. 
He urgeil his father to abandon all other lines of busi- 
ness and devote himself exclusively to elevators, in 
whicli he saw a great future and an open fieiil, there 
being then no establishment in this countrj- devoted 
solely to that branch of manufacture. 

At that time his father was doing a small business, 
employing from fise to fifteen men, of whom he acted 



as foreman. Soon after, in 1859, it was felt desirable to 
construct an elevator to run at high speed and with its 
own special engine. His father invented a hoisting- 
engine suitable for this purpose, and with it began the 
system of steam-elevators now so w'idely u.sed through- 
out the country, and which are so necessary to busine.ss 
as now conducted and to the use of the lofty buildings 
now erectetl. In 1860-61 Mr. Otis himself invented an 
improvement on this engine which overcame its princi- 
pal defect. 

Soon after came the depression of business at the 
becinninfT of the ci\il war, antl the death of Mr. V.. G. 
Otis in 1S61 left the business in an embarrassed anil 
paralyzed state. Mr. Olis had sa\-ed about fifteen hun- 
dred dollars, and now proposed to his brother, who also 
had some savings, to try and resuscitate the elevator 
business as a specialt}-, antl if possible to work it up to 
a permanent industry. This suggestion was carried out, 
all other lines of production being abandoned, and all 
the lime and attention of the Otis brothers being ilevoted 
to the impro\ement of elevator machinery and the de- 
velopment of a demand. In the following )ear trade 
began to re\ive, and elevators to be called for. Mr. Otis, 
determined to succeed, worked incessantly, sometimes 
all night long. Many improvements in the direction of 
safety were made, and numerous patents taken out as 
the business progressed, more than fifteen of these being 
the invention of Charles R. Otis. In 1S62 the business 
aggregated $15,000. In 1865 it hail reached S8o,000. 
The increase was rapid from that time forwaril, until 
in 1881 the business had reacheil an annual total of 
S6oo,000 anil was rapidly increasing, so that, in June, 
1882, it was established on a basis of a million dollars 
and more per annum. 

In 1867 the concern was con\erted into a stock com- 
pany, in which the Otis brothers held the great bulk of 
the stock", with Mr. Otis as president. 

In 1890 Mr. Otis retired from business, and since his 
retirement he has been much interested in real-estate 
matters in Yonkers, and has built extensi\el\'. He is 
a member of the Hoard of Education, an elder in the 
Westminster Cliurili of that pl.ice. ami finMi 1S77 to 
1884 was superintenileiit of its Sunila)'-school. He 
and his brother contributed largely towards the erec- 
tion and furnishing of the new church edifice, and he 
continues closely identifieil with the internal improve- 
ments of Yonkers. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



271 



NORTON P. OTIS. 

Norton P. Otis, younger son of Elisha G. Otis, was 
born at Halifax, Windham County, Vermont, March 18, 
1840. He attended school at Halifax, Albany, and 
Hudson City, as his father successively moved his place 
of residence, and finished his education at the district 
school of Yonkers. He entered his father's factory at 
the age of eighteen, and after his father's death, in 1861, 
joined his brother in conducting the business, in which 
he invested all his savings, while its advancement and 
subsequent success were largely due to his energy, atten- 
tion, and ability. He inherited much of the inventive 
faculty of his father, and many of the patented devices 
which helped to perfect the Otis Elevator were the fruits 
of his ingenuity. It is not necessary' here to tell the 
stoiy of the development of this business, that being 
given in our sketch of Charles R. Otis. 

During tiie first ten years of Mr. Otis's connection 
with the concern he traveled e.xtensivel}' as selling agent 
for the elevator, taking steps to introduce it throughout 
the United States and Canada. In 1867, on the formation 
of the incorporated company, he was made its treasurer, 
and upon the retirement of his brother in 1890 he be- 
came the president of the company, which position he 
now holds. 

In the spring of 1880 Mr. Otis was nominated by the 
Republican party for the mayoralt)- of Yonkers, and 
was elected to this office by a handsome majority over 
his opponent. In this position he won not only the 
approbation of his own part}-, but gained the esteem and 
confidence of his political opponents as well. Among 
the useful events of his administration were the reor- 
ganization of the fire department, the addition of a new 
pumping-engine to the water-works, the obtaining of a 
charter for the new public docks, and the entire rear- 
rangement of the system of public school management. 
These changes were in a considerable measure due to 
Mr. Otis's public spirit, and the first school board under 
the new consolidated s)-stem was of his appointment. 
Despite the \'arious expenses of those works and changes 
of S3\stcm, his administration was an economical one, 
and the indebtedness of the city was reduced more than 
seventy-five thousand dollars. 

In the autumn of 1883 Mr. Otis was nominated b}' the 
Republicans as a candidate for the State Assembly, and 




the high estimation in which he was held by his fellow- 
townsmen was shown in his election by a good majority 
in a district that was strongly Democratic. His service 
at Albany brought him new esteem and popularity, many 
bills of a u.seful character and calculated to win him the 
respect of all well-meaning people being brought forward 
by him. One of these was a bill designed to protect 
the Hudson Riv-er towns from the influ.x on Sundaj- of 
drunken excursionists and New York roughs, who had 
heretofore greatly interfered with the peace and comfort 
of the inhabitants. Another was for the reduction of 
exorbitant rates of fare on the railroads of the State. 

In 1877 Mr. Otis married Miss Lizzie A. Fahs, of 
York, Pennssylvania, an estimable and accomplished lady. 
He has seven children, — Charles" ICdwin, Sidney, Arthur 
Houghton, Norton P., Katherine Lois, Ruth Adelaide, 
and James Russell Lowell. He, in common with his 
brother, has been much interested in the Westminster 
Church, of Yonkers, and has made many and large 
donations towards its erection and maintenance. He is 
a member of numerous social and bene\-olent associa- 
tions, and there is no citizen of Yonkers more respected 
than he, or more popular with the younger stratum of 
society in that town. The two brothers have played a 
large part in the development of the place, and for years 
have been active in its religious, social, and business life. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




FRANKLIN EDSON. 

Fkanki.in Edson comes of Puritan anccsti)' on botli 
sides of his parentage. His mother, Soviah Williams, 
was a descendant of Roger Williams. His father, 
Ophcr Kdson, descended from Deacon Samuel Edson, 
who came to America in 1635, and was prominent 
among the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony. Franklin Edson was born April 5, 1832, at 
Chester, Vermont, where his father had a farm, upon 
which the boy assisted during the intervals of his school 
attendance. He was sent to the local school till four- 
teen years of age, after which ho attendeil, for five 
years, the Chester Academy, studying during the au- 
tumn, teacliing school during the winter, and working 
upon the farm during spring and summer. In Feb- 
ruary, 1852, when in his twentieth year, he left the farm 
and engaged as a clerk with his brother, Cyrus Edson, 
who had established a distillery at Albany, New York. 
After three years of service in this capacity he was ad- 
mitted as a partner in the concern. In 1856 he marrietl 
F'anny C. Wood, granddaughter of Jetlno Wood, the 
inventor of the cast-iron plow, an instrument which has 
gone far to revolutionize agriculture. 

Mr. ICdson's business career in Albany was a very 
successful one. He continued liis connection with the 
distilling business in Albanj- till 1886, when he withdrew 
from it, and formed there the firm of Etlson, Orr & Cham- 
berlain, which engaged in the produce and commission 
trade. This business was soon after removed to New 
York, and was conducted there for three years, when the 
firm was dissolved, and he antl his ne|)hcw, Starks lulson, 
formed the existing firm of I'ranklin Edson & Co. 

While in business in Albany, Mr. Edson became a 
member of the New York .State Hank anil was prominent 



in the Board of Trade of that city. He was connected 
with St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church as vestry- 
man, and served as president of the Young Men's Chris- 
tian Association. In 1 87 1 he became a member of the 
New York Produce Exchange, in whose work he became 
so active and influential that he was elected president of 
the t^.xchange in 1873, and re-elected in the following 
year. As chairman of the committee on grain he gave 
much attention to the subjects of transportation and 
grading of the cereals, and under his influence the pres- 
ent methods of grading and delivery of grain at the 
port of New York were established. These led to the 
construction of the elevators at the termini of the several 
grain- carrying railroads. 

The movement for the construction of a Produce E.x- 
changc building was initiated by him, and the present 
fine structure at Bowling Green was erected under his 
control as chairman of the building committee, he gi\"ing 
to its erection much time and attention. Ant)ther jjublic 
service of much imijortance for which he can claim 
credit was the abolition of tolls on the State canals. 
This measure met with much apposition, but was finally 
carried through by his strenuous efforts, much to the 
advantage of the State, as he had long declared it would 
prove to be. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Edson has alwaj-s been 
a member of the Democratic party, but for many years 
has been opposed to the domination of Tammany Hall 
in cit\' ]iolitics. He became identifieil with the County 
Democracy in 1 881, and in the following year received 
the nomination for maj'or by a combination i)f the Demo- 
cratic organizations. He was elected by a |)lurality of 
more than twent)' thousand votes over Allen Campbell, 
the Citizens' candidate. Many important works for the 
advantage of the city were inaugurated during his term 
of office and others were completed. Among these were 
the planning and awarding of the contracts for the new 
Croton a<|uetluct, long since completed. A law being 
passed by the Legislature for the purchase of ground 
anil establishment of new parks in the twenty-third and 
twenty-fourth wards, these were laid out by a commis- 
sion appointed by Mayor I'^dson. During his adminis- 
tration the Brooklyn Bridge was com|>leteil and brought 
into use, and a bill for the construction of new armories 
secured, largely through his influence. 

Mr. lulson is a ilirector in the Bank of New York, is 
a member of the Manhattan Club and of the New Eng- 
lanil Societ)', anil for years has been a vestryman in the 
Church of St. James, at Fordham. As a man he is 
highl)' reputed for integrit\- and energ\', while his whole 
public life has been marked by sounil judgment, keen 
foresight, zealous public spirit, and persistent enterprise 
in measures for the good of the public. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



273 



CYRUS EDSON, M.D. 

Dk. Cyrus Edsox, chief of the New York Board of 
Health, was born in Albany, New York. He is de- 
scended from good old English stock, being able to trace 
his descent on his father's side from Deacon Samuel 
Edson, who emigrated to Massachusetts in 1635, settling 
at Bridgewater in that colony, while on his mother's 
side he is descended from Roger Williams, the famous 
founder of Rhode Island. In 1866 he came to New York, 
where he began his studies in the Albany Academy. 
Subsequently, at the age of thirteen, he was entered in 
the military boarding-school at Throgg's Neck, and 
soon after was sent to Columbia College to "o throutrh a 
thorough course of education. 

At fifteen, however, his father took him from school 
and sent him to Europe, where he traveled extensively, 
and on his return to this country supplemented his 
travels by a wide tour over the United States. During 
his journeys he observed everything from the point of 
view of a medical student, and visited the hospitals in 
the great cities of his tour for purposes of study. He 
was then re-entered at Columbia College, where his 
native ability and the experience gained in his travels 
showed themselves in an unusually rapid progress, while 
he made his mark as fully in college athletics as in 
scholarly attainments. The boating crew to which he 
belonged not only distanced all American competitors, 
but was sent to Europe by the College Alumni, where 
it matched itself against the crews of O.xford and Cam- 
bridge and carried off the visitors' cup. After leaving 
Columbia, he entered the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons. Here he became so popular among his 
fellow-students that they elected him grand marshal of 
the graduating ceremonies, an honor reserved for the 
most popular man in the graduating class. Gradu- 
ating from this institution with honors, he began prac- 
tice as an ambulance surgeon in the Chambers Street 
Hospital. 

In 1882 Dr. Edson first became connected with the 
Health Department of the cit}-, being appointed on the 



medical staff as assistant inspector, his duties being con- 
nected with the suppression of the epidemic of small-pox 
then pre\ailing. His services in this capacity proved so 
valuable that, in tcstinion_\- of their ajjpreciation b\- the 
authorities, he was placed on the permanent staff of the 
department, and was subsequently promoted stc]) b)- 
stcji through the different grades until he reachetl his 
present high position of medical commissioner of the 
Board of Health. This honor was abundantly deserved. 
In every position which he held he achieved distinction 
and rendered v-aluable services. His supervision has been 
particularly marked and notable for the rapidity and 
thoroughness with which epidemics have been stamped 
out, and this was particularly the case in the instance of 
the tyjihus fever epidemic of 1892, which was masteretl 
with an intelligence and skill that gave him a world-wide 
reputation. In addition to his invaluable services in this 
field of duty, he has given much time and attention to 
the suppression of food adulteration and of the .sale of 
bad drugs and poisonous confectionery. His power in 
this direction has, unfortunately, been limited, while the 
difficulty of removing this cause of many of the bodily 
ills of mankind is almost insuperable. Among his ser- 
vices to the cit}' must be particularh- mentioned those 
rendered during the threatened cholera epidemic of 1893, 
which was arrested by him at the gateways of the port 
of New York, and the cit}' completely saved from a visi- 
tation of that terrible scourge which had decimated some 
of the cities of Europe. 

Dr. Edson has written numerous articles on hygiene 
and other important subjects for the North American 
Rcvir<.<^\ being a prolific writer when we consider his 
great pressure of duties. He is a member of many 
medical societies, is surgeon, with the rank of colonel, 
in the New York State Militia, visiting ph}'sician to the 
Charity Hospital, secretar}' of the Committee on I I}'gicnc, 
president of the Board of Pharmacy, etc. He has been 
twice married, his first wife being Virginia C. Page, 
grandniece to the Duke of Marlborough ; his second, 
Mrs. Mai-}^ E. Quick. His first wife, who died in 1S91, 
left him a family of fi\-e chikiren. 



274 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HARRY L. HORTON. 

Harrv Lawkenck IIokton, formerl)- president of the 
village of New Hrighton, Statcn Island, was born at 
Shesequin, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Jul\- 17, i<S32. 
He is a descendant of Lord Morton, wliose castle in 
Northamptonshire, England, is still in existence. His 
American ancestor was Barnaljas Ilorton, w ho came to 
America from Moiisley, Leicestershire, England, in 1633, 
settled at Hampton, Massachusetts, came to New Haven 
in 1640, and in the same year settled at Southhold, Suf- 
folk County, Long Island, where he built the first frame 
dwelling in the place. The lineage of the famiK- can be 
traced back to 1300, to Robert tie Horton. 

Mr. Horton is the son of William B. Ilorton and Me- 
linda Blackmail Horton, daughter of Colonel Franklin 
lilackman. He was brouglit up on a farm, obtaining 
such education as was there to be had, and early in life j 
manifesting an unusual business capacity. At the age 
of .seventeen he left home and went to Towanda, New 
York, a position as clerk having been offered him in a 
mercantile hou.se in that |)lace. Here, by industry, busi- 
ness intelligence, and faithful attention to the interests of 
liis employers, he won their confidence and esteem, and 
developed those sterling ciualities of integrity and enter- 
prise to which the success of his subsequent business 
career is due. 

When twenty-two years of age Mr. Horton left To- 
wanda for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he began busi- 
ness on his own account in the jiroducc commission line, 
remaining actively engaged in this Western city for nine 



years. At the end of that time, in 1865, mo\-ed by vari- 
ous business reasons, he disposed of his establishment in 
Milwaukee and left the West for New York City, where 
he felt satisfied there would be opportunities of more 
rapid progress for one of his business enterprise. 

Immediately after his arrival in the metropolis, Mr. 
Horton connected himself with tlie stock and other 
exchanges, entering into the banking and brokerage 
business, and since then has conducted one of the most 
successful establishments of that kind in the cit\-. He 
is now the senior member of the firm of H. L. Horton 
& Co., which occupies at present commodious and hand- 
some banking-rooms at No. 66 Broadwaj-, but for o\er 
twenty-five )-ears was located at No. 56 Broatluay. His 
house is one of the few that have safelj- weathered the 
financial storms of the past twenty-fi\e years, and main- 
tained an uninterrupted pro.sperity during tliat period, 
passing safely through its several occasions of severe 
business revulsion. 

Soon after engaging in this enterprise in New York 
Mr. Horton began to reside at New Brighton, where 
he is now in possession of a handsome estate. He has 
taken a very acti\e part in public affairs in this ilistrict, 
having been promincntl_\- concerned in e\'er}- aggressi\e 
movement in Richmond County, and is especialh' entitled 
to credit for his energy in proniciting the development 
and interests of the Staten Island Water-Supplj- and of 
the Rajjid Transit Companies. 

Mr. Horton has made hosts of warm antl useful fiiends, 
whose esteem he possesses in the highest degree. He 
is a thorough business man, and of such ripened judg- 
ment and experience that his advice ami influence are 
wi(i(.:l\- sought. Of attracti\e personal appearance and 
courteous manners, he has made himself a fuorite alike 
in social and business life, while liis sound juilgment 
makes iiim a most useful citizen. W'armly benevolent 
in disposition, one of his chief aims in life seems to be to 
provide for the comfort antl happiness of others, and few 
men have done more unostentatious works of charity. 

Mr. Horton is a member of the Stock and Produce 
Exchanges, of the Chicago Board of Tratle, and of the 
Union League, Manhattan, Athletic, and other clubs. 
He is a lo\er of horses, and keeps a well-filled stable, 
while his city home at 144 West Fift}-seventh Street 
is adorned with a large library and man)' valuable 
paintings, in part the fiuit of several )'ears spent in 
Europe. He married Miss Sarah S. Patten, of New 
York, their family consisting of two daughters, Blanche 
and Grace. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



275 



MILTON 1. SOUTHARD. 

Milton Isaiah Southard is of English descent, bis 
ancestors having settled at Hempstead, Long Tsland, 
about 1657. They afterwards dwelt in New Jersey, and 
in 1S05 his grandfather emigrated to Licking County, 
Ohio. Here his father became engaged in the blast- 
furnace business and afterwards in farming, in both cases 
.successfully. Milton was born at Perr}ton, in the above- 
named county, on October 20, 1836, and gained his early 
education in the public schools of that district. He 
completed his education in Denison University, Granville, 
Ohio, graduating in 1S61 with much honor. He was par- 
ticularly versed in languages, science, and mathematics, 
and W'as fond of literature and oratoiy. 

His college course was followed by one of legal stud\', 
he being admitted to the bar in iSr)3. He began his 
practice at Toledo, Ohio, in partnership with William 
H. Ligraham, a college friend. He continued here for 
three years, after which he removed to Zanes\'ille, Ohio, 
and entered into partnership with his brother, Frank H. 
Southaril. The brothers were very successful, and soon 
became the leading lawyers of Zanesville. In 1867 he 
was elected prosecuting attorney for the county, and was 
twice re-elected, performing his duties with such ability 
as to gain great public favor. 

Politicall)- he was a member of the Democratic party, 
ami an earnest advocate of its political and economical 
principles. In 1S72, during a sharp contest in the Dem- 
ocratic congressional convention in his district, he was 
proposed as a compromise candidate. The proposal w'as 
accepted, and he was elected to Congress from the Zanes- 
ville district, which included his native county of Licking. 

Mr. Southard's course in the Forty-third Congress 
proved eminently satisfactory to his constituents, and in 
the succeeding convention he was nominated by acclama- 
tion, and elected to the Forty-fourth Congress. In this 
he served on several important committees, being chair- 
man of the Committee on Territories and a member of 
that on the Revision of the Laws of the United States. 
In both these positions he showed himself very able. 
In 1876 he was again returned to Congress. He now 
became a member of the Committee on Education and 
Labor, and chairman of the important special committee 
appointed to consider the law in reference to tiie Presi- 
dential election controversy of that year. After a full 
and thorough consideration of the questions involved, he 
came to the conclusion that an amendment of the Con- 
stitution was necessary to overcome the dangers of the 
present s_\-stem of electing the President. He presented 
to Congress in 1879 a plan for such an amendment, in 




which the present electoral .system was abolished and a 
direct popular vote for the candidates in each State pro- 
vided for. No such amendment has yet been passed, 
though its desirabilit}' remains strikingly obvious. Mr. 
Southard pioved himself an able member of Congress 
by his action in other directions, he taking part in dis- 
cussions on currenc)-, civil rights, and numerous other 
important cjuestions. 

At the close of his congressional career Mr. Southard 
took up his residence in the city of New York, where he 
engaged in legal practice, entering into partnership with 
General Thomas Ewing, with whom he continued asso- 
ciated until 1893. His practice in the courts of the 
metropolis has been large and lucrative, embracing many 
important cases, and extending to the .Supreme Courts 
of the State and the L^nitcd States. 

Aside from his legal practice, Mr. Southard is con- 
nected with a number of banking and other institutions, 
as director or in other official capacity. His attention, 
however, is principally confined to his profession. In 
this and his business relations he is active and capable, 
of marked ability, and with much force and eloquence 
as a forensic orator. Personally he possesses the strictest 
sense of honor and the most earnest integrity. To the 
strong will and intellectual capacity which fit him so well 
for his profession he adds in a high degree the graces 
and virtues of domestic and social life, and is as a result 
everywhere popular. He was married in 1876 to Virginia 
Hamilton, of Newton, New Jersey, daughter of Robert 
Hamilton, who has served his State as Speaker of the 
Assembly and member of Congress^ 



276 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




EBENEZER K. WRIGHT. 

KiiF.NF.ziiR Kellogg Wright, president of tlie National 
Park liank of New York, was born at Rome, New \'ork, 
July 28, 1837. The family from which he is descended 
belonged oriijinally to Essex County, E!ngland, where 
they were prominent a century before the emigration of 
the first American of the family to this country. This 
immigrant was settled at Wetliersfield, Connecticut, in 
1640, and his descendants made Wcthersfieid their place 
of abode for four generations succeeding. Ebenezer 
W'hite, a lieutenant in the Revolution, removed in 1789 
to l-'ort Stanwi.K, now Rome, New York, at that time 
far in the western wilds ; he and his wife, with two otiiers, 
constituting the first organized churcli of that place, — 
now the Presbyterian Church. 

The subject of our sketch was great-grandson to this 
pioneer. He received a sparse education in the common 
schools of his native town, and in Connecticut during 
a period of residence there. The greater part of his 
youthful life was spent on his father's farm, in the severe 
duties whicli were necessary features of farming in those 
days. At about seventeen he left the farm, having 
decided to devote himself to business, and obtained a 
position in the Utica City Hank, of Utica, New York, 
of which his uncle was president. 

Mr. Wright's career as a financier began in the position 
of bank messenger, at a salary of one hundred ilollars 
per annum. Me quickly showed him.self capable of 
higher duties, however, and was successively promoted 
to the po.sitions of clerk anil book-kee])er, and finally 



to that of teller. In 1859, after he had gained some 
four years' experience in this local bank, he resigned his 
position and went to New York City, where a position 
of teller's assistant had been offered iiim in the Park- 
Bank. 

This banking house was then situated on Beckman 
Street, near the City Hall Park, from which it derived 
its name. It was chartered in 1856, three years before 
Mr. Wright's connection with it. In 1865 it became a 
national bank, its name being changed to the National 
Park Bank of New York. The importance of this insti- 
tution, wliicli lias gained the notable position of being, 
in deposits, resources, and business, the largest bank in 
the United States, and with which, during its growth in 
fame and power, Mr. Wright has been closely identified, 
is such that some fuller statement concerning it is dc- 
.sirable. In 1868 it was removed from its original site to 
its present location on Broadway, opposite .St. Paul's 
Chapel. Here there hatl been erected for it a massi\e 
fire-proof marble building, within whose sturdy under- 
ground walls was constructed what is one of the most 
important safe-deposit vaults in the world. This bank 
is the New York agent and depository for banks in 
every section of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and 
South American countries, and leads every other bank 
on the continent in the amount of its de[)osits, and the 
cash and securities of which it is made the custodian. 
Its resources are similarly superior, and also the business 
which it transacts for other banks, corporations, antl 
capitalists. It occupies the site of the once well-know n 
Chemical Bank. 

Mr. Wright, as we have said, has been continuous!)' 
connected with this important institution from 1859, 
when he entered it as assistant to the teller, to the 
present time, steadily rising in position. 1 le became 
receiving teller in 1866, paying teller four months later 
in the same year, and cashier in 1876. He was elected 
a member of the board of directors on January 1 1, 1878 ; 
became second \ ice-president on May 4, 1888; first vice- 
president, No\embcr 16, 1888; and was elected to the 
presidenc)' on June 20, 189O. To his efforts during his 
connection with the l)ank much of its progress is due, 
and it promises to thrive greatly under his control as 
president. Mr. Wright is a vestrj-man in Trinit)' Church, 
and is a member of the Church Club, the Chamber of 
Commerce, tiie Society of Sons of the Revolution, the 
American Geographical Society, and the Oneida His- 
torical Society, and holds other positions of trust and 
honor. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



277 



DAVID McADAM. 

D.Win McAdam, justice of the New York Superior 
Court, is a native of New York City, of Scotch ancestry, 
his father having been a nati\e of Glasgow. The father 
came to New York in 1836, and conducted there a suc- 
cessful merchant-tailoring establishment. The son was 
bom in that city in October, 1838. 

Mr. McAdam was educated in tlic j)ublic schools of 
New York City till he reached the age of thirteen, when 
his father put him to work as office boy in a lawj-er's 
office. Here, while performing his duties, he occupied 
his leisure in reading law, in which he soon grew strongly 
interested. By 1855 he became sufficiently proficient to 
be advanced to the position of managing clerk for his 
emplo)-er, Mr. F. F. Marbur\', He now entered more 
regularly upon legal study, and in 1859 was admitted as 
a member of the New York bar. 

Mr. McAdam entered upon the practice of his pro- 
fession in i860, and rapidly gained business, soon enjoy- 
ing a large and lucrative practice in general litigation. 
His reputation as an able and learned lawyer grew until, 
in 1873, he received the nomination of his party, the 
Democratic, for justice of the Marine Court. He was 
elected by a large majorit}'. In 1879, at the conclusion 
of his legal term of six years, he was re-elected, and in 
January, 1884, was chosen chief-justice by his associates. 
The jurisdiction of this court was greatly enlarged in 
1882, largely through his efforts, and its name was 
changed to the more appropriate one which it has since 
borne, that of City Court. 

In 1S85, at the termination of his second term, Judge 
McAdam was elected for a third term. This he did not 
complete. The term legally expired in December, 1891, 
but in 1890 he was nominated for the bench of the 
Superior Court, and was elected to this important posi- 
tion for the constitutional term of fourteen years. This 
term of service will e.vtend well into the coming cen- 
tury. 

Judge McAdam is notable for his fine oratorical 
powers, and has become distinguished as a lecturer on 
numerous topics. His lectures are of very varied char- 
acter, the favorite ones being on such familiar subjects 
as " George Washington," " Robert Burns," " Lincoln 



and Grant," "Character," "Legal Chestnuts," "Time 
and Tide," " Law\-ers Wise anil Otherwise," and others of 
like character. His ability in this direction has given 
him a wide reputation outside the limits of his influ- 
ence on the bench, and there is no jurist in the State of 
New York better known or more po[iular than Justice 
McAdam. 

He has also written largely on legal subjects, and is 
the author of se\'eral works in special fields of law which 
have become standard authorities. Two of tiiese are on 
" Marine Court Practice" and three on " Landlord and 
Tenant." Others are entitled " Terms of Court," " The 
Stilhvell Act," and " Names." In addition to the pub- 
lished works he has published pamphlets on various 
legal subjects, and has written many communications 
for law periodicals and also for the general press. 

For many years past Judge McAdam has been actively 
interested in procuring legislation in the New York As- 
sembly for the advancement of true equity in legal prac- 
tice, and several of the most important statutes in this 
direction were initiated and prepared by him. Among 
these we may mention that which prevents landlords 
from dispossessing monthly tenants in New York City, 
without giving at least five daj's' notice in advance. This 
has served to prevent certain abuses which in many cases 
proved serious hardships to tiie parties concerned. It 
has proved so popular among the class of tenants affiscted 
by its provisions, and so useful in preventing injurious 
haste in eviction, that its provisions have been extended 
to include other cities in New York State. It has also 
served as a model for laws of similar purpose passed in 
a number of the other States of the Union. 

Judge McAdam may also claim credit for proposing 
and drafting the law which authorizes the courts to dis- 
charge debtors who ha\e been detained in civil cases, 
and who are found, upon examination, to be unable to 
endure imprisonment. Another law of which he is the 
author is the important one under which courts are au- 
thorized to grant new trials in cases where the complaint 
has been wrongfully dismissed at trial. From the above- 
mentioned examples of Juilge McAdam's activity in 
various directions it will be perceived that he is a very 
important factor in the legal and public life of New 
York City. 



36 



278 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLHS L. COLBY. 

CiiAKi.us L. CoLitv, railioaci president and financier, 
was born at Roxbnry (now a part of lioston), May 22, 
1839, the son of Gardner Colby, a prominent railroad 
projector and builder in tlie North-western States. He 
recei\cd his collegiate education in Brown University, 
graduating there in 1S58, .soon after which he entered 
upon his business career in the office of Page, Richard- 
son & Co., of Boston, a firm of ship-owners, who had a 
line of Liverpool packets and ilid a large average adjust- 
ing business. He remained with this firm for a year, at 
the end of \\ hicli he went to New Y(5rk City and there 
associated himself with Captain Dunbar, under the firm- 
name of Dunbar & Colby, in the business of building 
antl managing ships. This firm continued in existence 
for two years, when the death of the senior partner left 
.Mr. Colby in sole control of the business. To the orig- 
inal enterprise he soon after added the line of general 
warehousing and commission, admitting a brotiier as 
partner, the firm-name now becoming C. L. & J. L. Colby. 
K. B. Bartlett was also afterwards ailmitted. 

Mr. Colby's connection with railroad enterprises began 
in 1870, in which year he withdrew from his New York 
business connection for the jnirpose of joining his father 
m the work of extending and developing the VViscon.sin 
Central Railroad. His part in this work soon became 
an important one, being that of negotiating the sale of 
the bonds of tills road in the European market. He was 
remarkably successful in this, and during the next three 
years spent much of liis time in luirope engaged in this 
financial duty. In 1874, the requirements of the road 
demanding liis presence in the West, he removed to 



Milwaukee, which he made his place of residence for 
the succeeding fifteen )-ears, after which he returnetl to 
New York. 

The work done b\- Mr. Ci)lb\- and his associates in 
creating tlie Wisconsin Central .system of railroads was 
ver)' extensive, a number of roads being built or 
bought, and the Chicago and Great Western Terminal 
Company created in Chicago. Mr. Colby was elected 
president of the Wi.sconsin Central in 1877, and held 
this office till 1891, when he resigned. In 1889 the 
entire stock and branch roads of the Wisconsin Central 
sy.stem were placed in his hands and those of two 
associates as trustees, and have been most successfully 
managed. 

Mr. Colby was the first treasurer of the Phillips & 
Colby Construction Company, holding this office for 
several years. He is closely identified with the interests 
of several lines leading to the Pacific coast, being a 
director and chairman of the executive committee of the 
Northern Pacific Railroad Com]:)any, while for a time 
he was president of the St. Paul ami Northern Pacific 
Railroad Company. He is connected also with various 
equipment companies and with a number of mining cor- 
porations, and is president of the Spanish-American Iron 
Compan)', which owns the rich Lola iron-mines in Cuba, 
and possesses a capital of ^55,000,000. These numerous 
business connections ha\e not exhausted his energies, he 
having become a partner in the American Steel Barge 
Compan)', which is engaged in building barges and 
steamships of the successful type now known as " whale- 
backs." In addition lie has organized and is financially 
interested in several enterprises in the State of Wash- 
ington. 

Tlie onl)' political position Mr. Colby has ever con- 
sented to accept was tliat of member of tlie Wisconsin 
Legislature, to which he was elected in 1876. Here he 
proNcd himself an able orator and ileep thinker, as well 
as a close student of public e\ents. He became consjiic- 
uous for his vigorous fight against the restoration of 
capital punishment in that State, and it was niainl\- due 
to his brilliant speech against it that llu- bill restoring it 
was defeated. He has been an actixe worker in educa- 
tional and religious interests. I'or several years he was 
a trustee of Brown University, ami in 1890 was elected 
a member of its Board of I'ellows. He is also on the 
board of trustees of Wajland University, Beaver Dam, 
Wisconsin, and is connected with several other educa- 
tional institutions. lie is earnestly interested in the 
Young Men's Christian Association, to wliicii he has 
liberal 1)' contributed, while lie lias been a benevolent 
giver to man\' worthy objects. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



279 



PHINEAS C. LOUNSBURY. 

PuiNEAS Chapman Lounsbury, ex-Governor of Con- 
necticut, was born at Ridgefield, Connecticut, January 
10, 1 841. His grandfather, a soldier in the Revolution- 
ary War, was a farmer by profession, in which he was 
succeeded b\' his son, so that Mr. Lounsbury's early life 
was the healthy one of farm occupations. His education 
was rccci\-ed at Connecticut schools, and was marked b\- 
a proficiency in the classics, and also in mathematics, 
orator)-, and powers of debate. 

After his school period, Mr. Lounsbiuy left the farm 
and entered into manufacture, soon starting on his own 
account and progressing successfully. On the outbreak 
of the civil war he had joined the Seventeenth Regiment 
of Connecticut Volunteers as a private, but a severe spell 
of sickness prevented his serving in the ranks, and after 
several months of prostration he was honorably dis- 
charged from militar\- dut\'. At a later date he was 
recommended for a pension, which he refused to accept. 
He has kept up his army relations, however, as a mem- 
ber of the Grand Arm}- of the Republic, and was the 
orator of the day when, in 1S84, the veterans of his old 
regiment dedicated at Gettysburg a monument to those 
who had fallen in their ranks during the decisive battle 
at that place. 

Politicall}-, Governor Lounsbury has been a strong 
Republican since he cast his first vote in 1864 for Abra- 
ham Lincoln. In 1 874 he was elected to represent his 
nati\e town of Ridgefield in the Connecticut Legislature, 
and in this body, both as a speaker and in committee 
work, showed himself so able and earnest that he rose to 
a position of leadership in his part}-. He was strongly 
interested in the temperance question, and the rigid local- 
option laws which now exist in Connecticut are mainh' 
due to his vigorous and successful advocacy of the cause 
of temperance during his legislative career. 

\\\ 1884 he took an active part in the Blaine campaign, 
and was recognized as one of the best orators in the 
party ranks. At three different conventions his name 
was offered as a candidate for governor of Connecticut. 
It was withdrawn in 1S82, at his own request, in favor of 
Hon. \V. II. Bulkeley. In 1884 he was distanced by a 
rival candidate. In 1886 his name was again presented, 
and he was now unanimously nominated on the first ballot. 
He was elected, and served as Governor of Connecticut 
during the term of 1887-88. His service as governor 
has recei\-ed the highest praise, as one marked by a wise, 
patriotic, and dignified administration of public affairs. 

As an orator, Governor Lounsbury made his most 
striking exhibit of eloquence at the Woodstock celebra- 
tion iif Independence Daj- in 1886, in which his remarks 




thrilled with the finest spirit of American patriotism. On 
his retirement from the gubernatorial chair he received 
the warmest compliments for integrity, courtesy, and effi- 
ciency from the Hartford Times, the principal Democratic 
paper of the State. 

Governor Lounsbury's early business career as a man- 
ufacturer has been followed by a long period of service 
as a financier, in which he has displayed marked knowl- 
edge of financial principles and great executive ability. 
For many years he served as a director of the Merchants' 
Exchange National Bank, of New York City, an insti- 
tution founded in 1829, with a capital of ;S 1,000,000. 
In 1885 he was unanimously elected president of this 
institution, a post which he has since continued to fill 
with the highest satisfaction to all parties concerned. He 
is also a trustee of the American Bank-Note Company, 
chairman of the executive committee of the Washington 
Trust Company, and officially connected with other finan- 
cial organizations. 

Governor Lounsbury is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in whose affairs he has been prom- 
inent. In 1886 he was a lay-delegate to the General 
Conference, and has been for many years a trustee of the 
Wesle\-an Uni\ersity, Middletown, Connecticut, by which 
he was, in 1887, given the honorary degree of LL.D. 
Socially he is a member of the Colonial and the Repub- 
lican Clubs, of New York City. He is a prominent 
Mason, being a member of Jeru.salcm Lodge, of Ridge- 
field, a Royal Arch Mason of Eureka Chapter, Danbury, 
Connecticut, a Knight Templar of Crusader Commandery, 
of the same place, and a Noble of the My.stic Shrine, 
Pvramid Temple, Bridgeport, Coiniacticut. 



28o 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ARCHIBALD A. MrLF^OI). 

Archiiiai.i) Angl's McLe(II) is, as his name indicates, 
of Scotch descent. He was born in the Ncai' iS_|8, and 
was thus one of the \'oiingest men ever intrusted with 
such extensive railroad interests as came under liis con- 
trol. After obtaining a fair academical education, he 
stutlied civil engineering, and began his railroad career 
wliile still a youth, as rod-man in the survey's for the 
Northern Pacific Railroad. As lie grew older and at- 
tained experience, his force of character, executive abilit)', 
and devotion to duty brought him rapid progress in his 
profession, so that by 1882 he had attained the respon- 
sible but inconspicuous position of general manager of 
the I-'hnira, Cortlandt and Northern Railmad. The 
I'hiKnlel|)hia and Reading Railroad was then in the 
midst of a desperate struggle for existence, and in such a 
condition that only a man of ability and resources could 
hope to rescue it from failure. In this state of affairs Mr. 
McLeod was chosen for the difficult task, and the worl< 
of rejuvenation of the Reatling placetl in his hands. 

He found the Reading largely destitute of facilities 
adequate to its business. Its physical condition was 
wretched ami its equi|iment antiquated. It greatlj- 
lacked passenger and freight depot facilities; its road- 
bed was imperfect ; it needed siilings and increaseil 
trackage; its bridges and tunnels were too narrow for 
modern cars; its motive power was in.idequate ; the coal 
cars were generally of .small capacity and light construc- 
tion, and in all respects the road was behind the age. 

Such was the condition of affiirs which confronteil Mr. 
McLeod when he entered upon the management of the 
company. F"ortunately for him, he po.ssesscd the best 
attributes of his sturdy and tenacious race. Courage, 
pertinacity, a strong sense of right and justice, and a 
quick mental grasp of subjects submitted to his decision, 



were marked characteristics of the man, and to them was 
added a physique capable of great endurance. All these 
faculties were needed. He had to transform the road; 
virtualK' to rebuild it in great part, with an empt)' treas- 
ur}-, backed by a nearl\- bankrupt company. These seem- 
ingly insujierable difficulties did not deter him. \\'ith 
tireless energ)' he went to work, and in a marvelously 
short space of time modernized the road, laying man)' 
miles of new track, building new stations, establishing 
storage plants ft)r coal, erecting warehouses, and leasing 
or purchasing wharves. All this was done without in- 
creasing the percentage of expense. On the contrar\-, a 
notable decrease was effected, while the rapidity with 
which the interests of the road were expanded startled 
the railroad world. When he took hold of the road it 
was a circumscribed coal line, Philadelphia and the coal 
regions being its terminal points. When he resigned it 
had made wide-spread connections with other roads, and 
had facilities extending to all the chief industrial centres. 

Mr. McLeod had the interests of the city and State, as 
well as those of the road, at heart. He saw clearl)' that 
Philadelphia greatly needed increased transatlantic freight 
service, and from his efforts arose the North Atlantic 
Steamship Line, which later dc\'eloped into the N. A. 
Trident Line, llis polic_\- in Imilding up the commerce 
of the city resultetl in an increase, between 1888 and 1892, 
of nearl)' two hundred per cent., and he thus practically 
demonstrated the natural advantages of Philadelphia as 
a commercial port. 

Another higliK- imjjortant service to the city was his 
strenuous labor in establishing the splendid ternn'nal 
station of the Reading Railroad. It was this which 
spurred the Pennsyhania Railroad to the recent great 
impiovements in Hroad Sliect .Station, so that the city 
fairl)- owes to him tennin.d f.icilities une<]u,ded in any 
other cit)- of the L'nited States. In addition, he wainil)- 
supported the Belt Line, he co-operated in the building 
of the commodious storage warehouses of the Penn.syl- 
vania Warehouse Companj", he made great changes on 
the New York division of the road, and may claim credit 
for the excellent service of the Ro\al Blue Line between 
New York, Philadel|)hia, uid Washington, and various 
other things inuring to the advantage of Philadelijhia. 
In 1893 Mr. McLeotI resigned from the Reading road, 
and has since resided in New York Cit_\-. Soon after 
taking up his residence here, he began to devote his time 
and ability to the ([uestion of rapid transit for the city of 
New York, which has attracted the attention of so many 
of the citizens of New York, as well as the ablest railroad 
experts in the country. He has developed and submitted 
plans which, it is believed, solves the difficult problem, 
and at a cost so low, as compared with anj- other plans 
suggesteil, that Mr. McLeotl's jilans have met with almost 
universal approval. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



28 I 



HENRY W. CANNON. 

Henkv White Cannon, ex-Comptroller of the Cur- 
rency, was born at Delhi, Delaware County, New York, 
on September 27, 1850. His direct ancestor on the 
mother's side was the first-born of Puritan Americans, 
Peregrine White, who was born in the " Mayflower," 
November 20, 1620, while that famous vessel lay in Cape 
Cod harbor. His grandfather on the same side was a 
Revolutionary soldier of distinction, who was taken 
prisoner by the British and died in the old " Sugar House" 
prison of New York. Benjamin Cannon, his paternal 
grandfather, in whose honor Cannonsville, New York, 
received its name, was a man who stood high in the busi- 
ness world, and the same ma\' be saitl of his son, George 
B. Cannon, postmaster at Delhi under President Grant. 

Henry W. Cannon was educated in the private schools 
of Delhi, and afterwards studied at the Delaware Literary 
Institute. He inherited a strong business procli\it)-, and 
having decided to pursue the business of banking, he ob- 
tained a position in the First National Bank of Delhi, 
where he was made teller before he became twenty j-ears 
of age. He left immediately afterwards, being offered in 
1870 what seemed to him a better position in the .Second 
National Bank of St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1871 here- 
moved to Stillwater, Minnesota, and, though only twent^'- 
one years old, he organized there the Lumberman's 
National Bank, of which he became cashier and active 
manager, and continued so for thirteen years. 

Two years after this institution came into existence the 
panic of 1873 began, and banks everj'where suspended 
ciu'rency paj'ment, but so skillful aiul judicious was the 
management of the yoiithfid cashier that his bank was 
carried through the storm without once refusing pay- 
ment. For one so young, Mr. Cannon's career had been 
a remarkable one. It continued so, he having a born 
genius for banking. When the public debt was refunded 
he became active in purchasing and exchanging govern- 
ment bonds for Minnesota banks. He also negotiated 
loans for the city of St. Paul. His operations in these 
various directions, which frequently brought him to the 
East, antl into contact with prominent officials and finan- 
ciers, gave him such a reputation as an able banker that 
in 1884, at the solicitation of the Minnesota Congressmen 
antl numerous bankers, he was appointed by President 
Arthur Comptroller of the Currenc)-, to succeed Hon. 
John J. Kno.x. 

In this highly responsible position Mr. Cannon quickly 
demonstrated his abilit)-. Young as he was, his experi- 
ence had been varied, and he had diligently studied the 




])rinciples of banking and commercial law. He found 
himself at once in a position of difficulty, the financial 
crisis of 1884 causing great trouble in the banking com- 
munit)-, during which man\- banks were saved from going 
into the hands of receivers b}' the skill and judgment of 
the new Comptroller. He also wisel}- dissuaded the Senate 
from ordering an inquiry into the condition of the banks 
of New York, which might ha\e precipitated disaster. 
DurinET his term of office the charters of numerous 
national banks expired, and new charters were granted 
only after the Com[)troller liad satisfied himself of the 
soundness of the institutions. This was a task demand- 
ing great labor and \igilance on the part of Mr. Cannon. 
It w-as ver}' judicioush- performed. 

On the election of President Cle\-eland, Mr. Cannon 
was asked to continue in office, but he resigned early in 
1886 and removed to New York, where he became \ice- 
president of the National Bank of the Republic. In 
November of the same year he became president of the 
Chase National Bank, the position which he still holds, and 
in which the bank has greatly prospered under his care. 

Mr. Cannon was appointed by Mayor Grant aqueduct 
commissioner, an ajjpointment which gave general satis- 
faction. He was chosen by President Harrison as a 
member of the Assay Commissions of 1 89 1 and 1892, 
and as one of the United States commissioners in the 
International Monetary Conference of 1892, in which he 
pla)cd a ver\- important part. He has been a frequent 
contributor to newspapers am! journals on financial sub- 
jects. 



2.82 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




AUSTIN B. FLETCHER. 

The Fletcher family is one of earl}- I'mit.in ancestry 
in tliis country, a notable early representative of it bcinsj; 
Colonel Uenjaniin Fletcher, who was governor of tlie 
Provinces of New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware from 
1692 to 169S. He introduced tiie printing-press into 
New York by appointing William Bradford, of Phila- 
delphia, public printer there, while to him was largely 
due the erection of the original Trinity Church. The 
Fletchers since his time have been prominent as State 
governors, congressmen, judges, and as soldiers in all 
the wars of the country. A " h'letchcr I'aniily Union" 
was organized at Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1S76, and has 
had a number of meetings since, while a genealogical 
volume of nearly six hundred pages has been published, 
which accounts for no less than eight thousand five luin- 
dred and thirty-six descendants of Robert Metcher, the 
original American of the family, who landed at Concord, 
Massachusetts, in 1630. 

In direct descent from this I'liritan emigrant was Asa 
Austin Fletcher, born in 1823, and a man of great force 
of character and held in the highest respect by all who 
knew him. Me died in 1S91. His wife, Harriet Durkec 
I*"letclier, was a woman of fine organizing talent, and 
admirably adapted to the various social and charitable 
duties in which she took a prominent part. 

Austin Harcl.iy I'-Jetcher, son of the two just named, 
was born at Mendon, Ma.ssachusctts, March 13. 1S52. 
He received his early education in the public schools 
of his native town, followed by courses at Hryant & 
.Stratton's Commercial College and Dean and Wesleyan 
Academics. On leaving these institutions his father 
wished him to enter upon a business career, but the 
studious bo\'s aspiration for knowledge was yet far from , 
.satisfied, and he induced his father to enter him at Tufts I 



College, to pursue a course of classical stud)-. He grad- 
uated in the class of 1876, being now twenty-four years 
of age. Yet his love of learning was not yet satisfied, 
and he immediately entered upon new courses of study 
at the Ho.ston University School of Oratory, the School of 
All Sciences of Boston University, and the Law School 
of the .same institution, from which he graduated with 
the degrees of Master of Arts and Bachelor of I^iws. 

I\Ir. Fletcher won high honor in all these institutions, 
but was particularly ilistinguishcd for his unusual powers 
of oratory. At the college he took the first prizes in all 
oratorical contests in which he was permitted to engage, 
while his powers were greatly developed at the School 
of Oratory. While there he was teacher as well as pupil, 
and graduated with the reputation of being one of the 
leading authorities upon the subject of oratorj* in the 
country. The position of lecturer on Forensic Oratorj- at 
Boston University of Law was offered him and accepted, 
and he was also elected professor of Elocution in l^rnwn 
Universit)', Pro\'idence, Rhode Island. 

His labors in these positions aroused in him a sense 
of his own incapacity, which induced him to go abroad, 
with the purpose of communicating with professors of 
the same art in the institutions of Europe and gaining 
such fuller information as the Old World was capable 
of giving. He was assured, however, b)' the European 
professors, that platform orator}- was more fully de\'el- 
oped in .Xnicrica than in any other part of the world, 
and retuined with nu)re confidence in his own powers 
and the standing of his countr)-. 

He resumed his courses of lectures upon his return, 
but did not long continue them, resigning in 1S82 and 
coming to New York, where he accepted the presidency of 
a large corporation, w hose remunerative offers were suffi- 
cient to induce him to abandon the promising professional 
career upon which he had entered. This position he main- 
tained for two \-cars only, and then resigned to engage 
in the practice of the law. for which he had thoroughly 
prepared himself during his course at Boston Uni\ersitj-. 

Mr. h'letcher has been strikingly successful as a lawyer, 
and has attained a [jrominence in his profession which 
few reach in so brief a period. His practice is a higlil)- 
lucrative one, he being attorne\' for a very large number 
of banks, trust companies, and other corporations. He 
is conscientious in his treatment of cases, sludj'ing them 
thoroughly, while he is ]iarticularl}' skillful in mastering 
the intricacies of tlifllcult cpiestions in great corporate 
interests. His services are also much availetl of in cases 
of wills and the management of estates. 

He has been elected a tlirector on the boards of man)- 
banks anil other corporations, and he is [)resident of the 
great familj- combination of which we have spoken, the 
I*"letcher I-'amil)- Union, of which he forms om- of the 
most worthy and notable representatives. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



283 



CHARLES L. BUCKINGHAM. 

Charles Luman Buckingham, one of the most promi- 
nent among the younger lawyers of New York, traces 
his descent from Puritan ancestry, being a lineal descend- 
ant of Thomas Buckingham, who emigrated to Boston 
in 1637 and was one of the founders of New Haven and 
Milford, Connecticut. Mr. Buckingham is in the ninth 
generation from this original immigrant, and was born 
October 14, 1852, at Berlin Heights, Ohio. He re- 
ceived his early education in the public sciiools of this 
locality, after which, at the age of sixteen, he made an 
extensive journey to the West. On his return home he 
engaged successfully in some business enterprises, with 
the object of obtaining means to aid him in a college 
career. He then entered the Uni\ersit}' of Michigan, 
from which he graduated with honors in 1S75. 

During his college course Mr. Buckingham proved 
unusuall}' proficient in mathematics, mechanics, and the 
princi[)les of ci\il engineering, a profession in which he 
would undoubtedly have been successful had he under- 
taken it. This is indicated by the valuable article which 
lie contributed to Scrilmcr's Magazine, as one of a series 
furnished in 1889-90 by the leading engineers of this 
countr\-. His choice of a profession, however, was that 
(if the law, and he entered the Cnliunbia Law School 
at Washington, District of Columbia, in which city he at 
that time held the position of examiner in the Patent 
Office, a service which was useful to him in that line of 
legal study. 

Mr. Buckingham continued in the Patent Office after 
his ailmission to practice, receiving several promotions in 
this service, but at length decided to remove to New 
York, as counsel for the Western Union Telegraph 
Company. Here he entered actively into legal practice, 
and ciuickly attracted attention b)- his wide knowledge as 
a patent expert and his brilliant powers as a lawyer. 
He has since conducted some of the most important 
patent cases ever tried, and with remarkal)le success, 
winning cases which in\'ol\'ed enormoLis interests, and 
when opposed b\' the most eminent patent law}'ers, and 
by such distinguished attorneys as Senator Conkling and 
David Dudley Field. The financial importance of the 
cases which have been intrusted to Mr. Buckingham 
frequently amounts to immense sums, and calls for the 
best legal talent for their proper management. In the 
wide field of patent litigation, Mr. Buckingham's atten- 
tion has been particularly directed to electrical cases, 
one of the most important and difficult de[)artments of 
patent law at the present time. In this department he 
stands first, his practical experience as an expert, gained 
from his years of service in the Patent Office, being of 




the utmost advantage to him. His familiarit)- with 
questions involving the use of electrical power, and his 
expert scientific knowledge in this direction, with his 
talent for exhaustive and original investigation, are such 
as give him pre-eminence in this special branch of prac- 
tice, in which, in adtlition, the highest legal skill and 
ability are requisites. 

Mr. Buckingham is notable for his untiring industry, 
in which he is equaled by lew lawyers who ha\'e at- 
tained his prominence in the profession. When in- 
trusted with a case of leading importance, he familiarizes 
himself with all the patents which bear even remotely 
upon the question involved, not only those of this 
country but those of Europe. His technical and me- 
chanical knowledge also serve him well in this duty, as 
an aid in the examination of witnesses, in which he occa- 
sionally solves mechanical jjroblcms which the expert 
witnesses before him had ne\'er attempted. Aside from 
this technical skill, Mr. Buckingham enjo\-s the reputa- 
tion of being one of the most skillful cross-examiners at 
the bar, while his briefs are distinguished for the clear- 
ness and origiiialit}- with which they are prepared. 

He is the leading counsel of the W'estern Union and the 
American District Telegraph Comixmies, and represents 
various other electrical and kindred corporations. Per- 
sonally his wide culture and fine conversational powers 
make him an attractive figure in society. He is a mem- 
ber of several clubs of New York and Washington, of the 
Ohio and Electrical Societies of New York, and of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 
the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 
and the American Institute of PLlectrital Enijineers. 



2S4 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JUDGE WILLIAM H. ARNOUX. 

William IIknkv Aknoux, formerly jiiilyc of lliu Supe- 
rior Court of tile cit)' of New York, is of French descent, 
his grandfather coming to this country in companj' with 
Count de Rochambeau during the Revolutionary War, 
in which he fought and was wounded. ,\fter the war 
he married a French lady and scttleil in this country, 
at Vcrgenncs, Vermont. Jutlgc Arnoux's father was 
brought by his parents to New York City while still a 
chiltl, and here the son was born and received his edu- 
cation. The boy was precocious as a scholar, beginning 
to learn Latin at eight years of age, Greek at eleven, 
while at fifteen he was prepared to enter Princeton Col- 
lege, llis father, however, preferring to bring him up 
to a mercantile life, placed him in a cloth house in New 
York, where he remained for four )-ears, struggling with 
a field of work for which nature had not adapted him. 
At the end of that time his father withdrew him from 
business and placed him to study law, for which he 
proved much better fittetl. l*"our jears afterwards he 
was admitted to the bar. 

In 1855 Mr. Horace Molden, in whose office he had 
studietl, having satisfied himself of the young man's 
ability anil probable success, offered him a partnership 
with himself and T. II. Thayer, his son-in-law. This 
firm continued in existence until 11X58, Mr. Arnoux 
demonstrating his legal knowledge and ability and gain- 
ing a promising practice at the bar. Upon the dissolu- 
tion of the firm he engaged in practice for himself, and 
continued for ten years without a partner. lie then 
became a member of the firm of Wright, Merrihew & 



Arnoux, and in 1870 formed the legal partnership of 
Arnoux, Ritch & Woodford, a business connection which 
persisted for twelve j'ears subsequently. 

In 1882 Governor Cornell appointed Mr. Arnoux 
judge of the Superior Court of the city and countv of 
New York, to succeed Judge Spcir, who had resigned 
his scat. This appointment led to a contest, Richard 
O'Gorman claiming the scat. It was decided in favor 
of Judge Arnoux by the decision of the court, which 
awarded to him the vacant seat. His term of service as 
Judge was a short but very active one, in which he made 
his juilicial abilitv" and earnest intcgrit\- strongK' felt, and 
established a reputation for skill in the just interpretation 
of the law. \ igor and determination in sustaining it, and 
dignity in his administration of his high office. Several 
questions of grave importance were brought before him, 
among them the construction of the newly revised Sun- 
day laws. Judge Arnoux's decisions on these laws were 
widely approved, the only appeal against theni being 
subse(iuently abandoned. Brief as was his term of ser- 
vice, he won the general respect of his profession and 
the public, ami retired from the bench with a gratif\-iiig 
reputation. 

After his retirement Judge Arnoux rejoined his firm 
and entered again activel)' into legal practice. Since that 
time he has ranked among the leaders of the New York 
bar. No man is a more enthusiastic lover of his profes- 
sion or takes a warmer pleasure in legal conflicts or in 
unraveling the knotty questions with which a lawyer 
often has to contend. It is his method to study to their 
depths the pr<il)lcnis with which he has to deal, and as 
far as possible to settle the question of the law regarding 
these topics. Many important cases have passed through 
his hands, and have been liaiullcd with such critical acu- 
men as to become established precedents in the courts. 
A notable elevated railroad case handled by him involved 
so careful and thorougli a research into the early colo- 
nial history of the State, that it has been printed and 
circulated as a very valuable treatise on the settlement 
of the Dutch in New York. 

Judge Arnoux has been an earnest advocate of the 
cause of governmental reform, and an officer and worker 
in a number of benevolent anil religious societies. He 
was one of the founders of the Union League Club and 
the New ^'ork Bar Association, and was jiresident of 
the State Har Association in 1889-90, during which he 
was very active in the celebration of the hundreilth anni- 
versarv of the formation of the United States Suiireme 
Court. He is a profound student of the Bible, anil has 
collated numerous un])ublisheil Biblical manuscripts. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



285 



GEORGE BRUCE. 

George Bruce, a noted type-founder in tlie early 
years of the century, was a native of Edinburt;;!), Scot- 
land, where he was born June 26, 1 781, the son of John 
Bruce, of Wotton, Caithness, Scotland. His father had 
intcndetl coining to America, but was prex'entetl b\' ill- 
ness, and in consequence of his son John, a mere lad, 
being fraudulently enlisted, sent George to America to 
save him from a similar fate. His older brother, Daniel, 
had preceded him, antl was established in Philadelphia as 
a printer. George was just past fourteen on landing in 
Philatlcl[)liia. His brother received him gladly, and soon 
found him a place in a printing and binding house, where 
he continued until he had gained an excellent knowledge 
of the business. In 1797 he obtained a position in the 
office of the Philadelphia Garji/ti, where he did press- 
work, antl also acted as a reporter in obtaining daily in- 
formation concerning the ravages of the yellow fever epi- 
demic of that )-ear. He continued this duty tluring the 
return of the pestilence in 1798, but later in the year 
went with his brother to New York, to escape the danger 
of disease. He was taken sick during the journey, re- 
fused admittance to an inn, and laid in an empty frame 
building on a dock. Here he recovered, — perhaps through 
the healing agency of abundance of fresh air. 

The brothers, finding the pestilence as severe in New 
York as in Philadelphia, proceeded to Alban\% and worked 
there in a printing-office till the next spring, when they 
returned to New York and obtained work on the Mercan- 
tile Advertiser. Din-ing the following two years George 
was employed on book-work, in the establishments of 
Isaac Collins, James Crane, and T. & J. Woods. 

About this time the Franklin Typographical Associa- 
tion was formed by a number of journeymen printers, 
about fifty in all, George Bruce being elected their secre- 
tary. He enteretl the office of the Dai/j' Advertiser in 
1802, when twenty-one years of age, and in the follow- 
ing year was made foreman of the composing and press- 
rooms. Shortly afterwards the full control ami respon- 
sibilit)' of the issuing of the paper were intrusted to his 
hands, and in the volumes for 1803 to 1805 iiis name 
appears as i)rinter. Near the end of the last-named year 
he began business on his own account, undertaking to 
reprint some books imported from Europe, among them 
Lavoisier's " Chemistry. " 

He and his brother now went into partnership, under 
the name D. & G. Bruce, procured a press and type from 
Philadelphia, and established themselves at the corner of 
Wall antl Pearl Streets. Here their business pro\-ed \-ery 
prosperous, and within a few )-ears the\- had the best 




equipped printing-office in New Yoi'k, with nine presses. 
They reprinted here the Ediiiluiri^/i, Loudon, and Quarterly 
Re-vieics, and a number of l^ritish books on orders from 
publishers. 

In 1 81 2 Da\itl ]5ruce\'isited England, to obtain a know 1- 
edge of the art of stereotyping, then kept a profound 
secret by the printers of the Cambridge and Oxford Uni- 
versities, and b\- a Mr. Walker, of London. Mr. Bruce, 
howe\-er, found money a key to unlock the secret, and in 
1 8 14 the brothers issued an edition of the New Testa- 
ment from plates stereotyped in America, and in 1815 an 
edition of the Bible from stereotype plates. To obtain 
type suitable for this process the firm was soon forced 
to establish a type foundry of its own, a branch of the 
business which in time became its most im[)oitant depart- 
ment. 

The printing-office was continued till 1822, when Da\id 
retired. George then confineti his attention to the t\'pe- 
founding business, and with such success that the present 
high standard of superiority of American t}'pe was largely 
due to his efforts. His "punch-cutting" process became 
so perfected that he produced types of a beauty and 
symmetry that rivaled the productions of the copper- 
plate presses, two fonts of " script" cut b}- him being even 
\et unexcelled. His nephew, David Bruce, Jr., invented 
"the only type-casting machine that has stood the test of 
experience, and is now in general use." George Bruce 
was for years president of the Mechanics' Institute and 
the Type-Founders' Association, and a member of various 
other societies. He died in New York, Juh' 5, 1866. His 
eldest son succeeded him in the type foundr\', from which 
he has recentl\- retired. ^ 



37 



286 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




REAR-ADMIRAL HENRY WALKE. 

Rkak-Admiral Henky Walke was born in iSo8, in 
Princess Anne Count)-, Vir<,nnia, on " The Ferry Planta- 
tion," about ten miles from Norfolk, which was owned and 
occupied b)' his ancestors for several generations, the first 
of whom emigrated to this countr\- friim luigland in 1662 
and settled. He is related by descent or intermarriage to 
theCalverts, Randolphs, Masons, Meades, and other promi- 
nent families of Virginia at an early day. His father, An- 
thony Walke, who emigrated to Ohio in 1 820, and settled 
near Chillicothe, was a man of considerable culture. He 
served five terms as a representative in the Legislature 
of Ohio, and two terms as a .senator from Ross County. 

Mr. Walke entered the navy in 1827, and in 1828 
came to New York as a midshipman of the United States 
ship " Natchez," — she was fifteen hours beating u|) fioni 
Santly Hook to Castle Williams, in a north-east gale. 
After reaching the navj')-aril the ship was moored to 
the " Cob-dock," to freeze out the yellow fever (con- 
tracted at Vera Cruz), by order of Commotlore Chauncey, 
successor of Commodore li\ans, who designed and com- 
pleted many of its buildings, walls, ami walks. 

In the cold morning watches Mitlshipman Walke was 
.sent to the Catherine l-'errj- Market in the tlingy for pro- 
visions for the officers' breakfast, and if any of the crew 
deserted, he had to spend his " daj's liberty" in searcii- 
ing for them, and if not caught or returned to the shij), 
he had to pay their debts, and thus by early e.xperience 
he obtained a knowledge of the citj-. He was attached 
to the "Ontario" when the " l-'ulton" was blown up, by 
an into.xicated gunner, it was said. The cxjih^sion was 
terrible, some of the nu n were l)lown into Wall-About 
Hay, the commander was killeil, and his wife .seriously 
injured. The mainmast and yards fell with a great crash, 
killing and wounding quite a number. 



While attached to the same ship, in 1829, off the 
Western Islands, when she was knocked down on her 
beam-ends nearly, and her commander. Thomas H. 
Stevens, called or beckoned for \ olunteers " to go aloft 
and furl the main-topsail," which had not been furled, 
and was holding the shij) down (little could be heard or 
seen in the roaring storm, flapping topsail, and n\iiig 
spray). Midshipman Walke was the only officer that vol- 
unteered, and with seven or eight men went aloft, and 
furled the sail, which, no doubt, saved the ship, as then 
.stated by the late Admirals Charles H. Davis and J. A. 
Dahlgren, and 1)\- Mr. Lee, consul-general at Algiers, 
whose report of the hurricane was soon after published. 

In 1839, after a three \-ears' cruise in the Pacific, he 
returned to New Y'ork in the 80-gun ship " North Caro- 
lina," anJ was one of her lieutenants at the time of the 
Astor Place riot, when the mob was dispersetl b)- Cap- 
tain J. G. Renolds with his marines and artiller\', and 
when the old veteran j)rivateer Captain S. !".. Reid was 
wounded by a pistol-shot. 

From 1836 to 1S53 he served as lieutenant of the 
" North Carolina" and other ships of war at sea and in 
this port. She was for many years the most prominent 
and admired manof-war in this harbor or any other, 
and was frcquentl\- \isitcil l)\- the people of New \'ork 
and Prooklyn, as well as by strangers antl foreigners. 

In the war with Me.xico he participated in the cajjture 
of all her ]irinci[)al ports. He rendered important ser- 
vice during the civil war, in preventing the capture of 
Fort Pickens at Pensacola by the Confederates. On 
the Western waters the gun-boats under his command 
were always in the fiont line of battle, ami were the 
leaders in nearly all our \ictories. They were fore- 
mostly engaged at Helmont, Fort Henr\-, Fort Donelson, 
twice. Island No. lO, three or four times, Fort Pillow, 
Memjihis, the Yazoo, Vicksburg, Grand Gulf, twice, ami 
Simsjiort. He was thus engaged in four times as man)- 
victories as any other commanding officer, anil as often 
misrepresented or ignoreil in the official reports, .\fter 
a month's leave of absence he was placed in commantl 
of the "Sacramento," and sent in search of the "Ala- 
bama" in the North and South Atlantic Ocean, and was 
in close ]5ursuit of that vessel from the Ca|)e of Good 
Hope when she was sunk by the "Kearsarge." 

He blockaded the " Ri[>pahannock" (of the same class 
as the "Alabama") for fifteen months, off ami on. at 
Calais, and after her escape from that port, overtook her 
in British waters, going into Liverpool, where she re- 
mained until the end of the war. 

Rear-Admiral Walke, with his familv, has been a resi- 
dent of New York City and Prookljn for main- years, 
and he has always felt great interest and pride in their 
growth and prosperity. He usually sailed from, and 
returned to, the New Y'ork Na\y-Yard. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



287 



PAY-INSPECTOR ARTHUR BURTIS. U. S. NAVY. 

Arthur Burtis was born in Xcw York, and appointed 
assistant paymaster from that State by Mr. Lincoln in 
1862, in accordance with the recjuest of the Honorable 
Hamilton Fish and Senator Preston King. These cjentle- 
nien had been classmates of Assistant Pa)-mastcr l^urtis's 
father, the Rev. Arthur Hurtis, D.D. His grandfather, 
Arthur Burtis, was an Alderman of the city of New- 
York from 1 8 13 to 1819. His great-grandfather and 
great-great-grandfather both served in the Revolutionar)- 
War; the older being at the time si.xty-four, antl his son 
twcnt)--two years of age. 

His first orders were to ilut\- under Atlmiral Farragut 
in the "Sagamore," but on the wa}- there in the supply 
steamer " Rhode Island" contracted yellow fever, and 
he was sent north. He was then, upon recov'ering his 
health, ordered to the " Connecticut," employed in con- 
vo)-ing the California steamers through the Caribbean 
Sea, rendered necessary by the fact that the "Alabama" 
hatl recentl}- o\'erhauletl the " .\riel," with mails and pas- 
sengers. The " Connecticut," of the North Atlantic 
]-51ocking Squadron, was next on the blockade, capturing 
four noted blockade-runners, all with valuable cargoes. 
She also caused the destruction of four more, in the 
course of which duty she was engaged with Fort 
Fisher. 

From 1S64 to 1866 Paymaster Burtis was attached to 
the " JNIuscoota," of the Gulf Squadron, and had the 
3'ellow fe\'er a second time on board that vessel, off the 
Rio Grande, in 1866. The only medical officer died, and 
the vessel went to Pensacola, where she received a sur- 
geon and other officers necessary to take the ship north. 
She proceeded to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where 
the ship's company were landed and placed in quarantine. 

While in the " Muscoota," he was promoted to pay- 
master May 4, 1 866. 

From 1867 to 1S69 he was stationed at League Island. 
From 1870 to 1873 was attached to the "Brooklyn," 
which ship brought the body of Admiral Farragut from 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to New York, and then 
W'Cnt for a cruise in European waters. In 1871 he was 
appointed fleet-paymaster. 

L^pon his return home, after service at the Bureau 
of Provisions and Clothing, Navy Department, 1873, 
he became inspector of provisions and clothing at the 
navy-yard, Philadelphia, from 1874 to 1877. Most of 
the time he had the additional duty of paymaster of the 
receiving-ship "St. Louis." In 1878 he was a member 
of the Board of Examiners. He was again ordered to 
League Island, but after about a year's service there 
went to the practice-ship "Constellation" for her sum- 
mer cruise with the cadets of the Naval Academy. 




After this he was for some time on special duty at na\}' 
pay office. New York. From 1883 to 1886 he was at- 
tached to the " Galena," of the North Atlantic Squad- 
ron. The " Galena" was at Aspinwall in the spring of 

1885. Duiing the rebellion on the Isthmus, and when 
that city was burned, the officers and crew of the siiip 
prevented much destruction of property and loss of life. 
The " Galena" also captured at St. Andrcw-'s Island tlic 
filibustering steamer " City of Mexico" in February, 

1886. From June, 1886, to May, i88g, was the pay- 
master of the nav\--yard, New York. He next went to 
the " Vermont," receiving-ship at New York, anil in 
January, 1890, was ordered as fleet pa)-master of the 
Pacific Squadron in the flag-ship " Charleston." The 
" Charleston" brought King Kalakau from the Sand- 
wich Islands to California, and took his remains back to 
Honolulu in January, 1891. From the " Charleston" he 
was transferred to the flag-ship "San Francisco," 31st 
March, 1891. The "San Francisco" was in Chili during 
the revolution in 189 1, and was in Valparaiso when 
Balmaceda's army was defeated and the Congressional 
forces captured that city, August 28, 1891. Was pro- 
moted to pay inspector 21st September, 1891 ; was de- 
tached from the flag-ship " San Francisco" 30th January, 
1892. He is at present in charge of the pa}' office at 
the New York Navy-Y'ard. 

Received the honorary degree of A.M. from Hobart 
College. Member of the Saint Nicholas Society, of New 
Y'ork, the Holland Society, of New York, the Sons of 
the American Revolution, the " Kappa Alpha" Society, 
the Saint Nicholas Club, of New York, the Union Club, 
of New York, the Council of the Military Order of the 
Loval Leeion, and Member of the Colonial Order of the 
Acorn. 



28S 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN B. TRHVOR. 

John Hond Tri:vok, long ])romincntIj' connected 
with the stock excliange business in New York, was 
born in Philadelpliia, March 27, 1822. He was of 
English parentage, being the grandson of Samuel 
Trevor, who on coming to this country settled at Con- 
nells\ille, I'ennsj-lvania. His father, John V>. Trevor, 
Served for several terms as a nieinhcr nf the Pennsylva- 
nia State Legislature. 

Mr. Trevor spent his early life in I'hiladclpliia, was 
educated there, and began his i)usiness career in a wiiole- 
sale dry-goods house, in which he remained for five years. 
He went to New York in 1849, and in January of the 
following year was made a member of the Stock Ex- 
change, upon whose floor his judgment and power of 
quick decision soon gained him an excellent stantling. 
His business connection was with the stock brokerage 
firm of Cirpenter, \'aii Dvke i<: Trevor, formetl that 
year, and continued for two \-ears, when it was diss(jlved, 
and Mr. Trevor entered into partnership with James R. 
Colgate, under the firm-name of Trex'or & Colgate. 

Vox twenty years this firm continued to do a prosper- 
ous bu.sine.ss. In 1872 Mr. Trevor withdrew, with the pur- 
pose of retiring from business, but after a few months of 
retirement he re-entered the firm, which had assumed 
the name of J. B. Colgate & Co., a title which it pre- 
serves to the present day. Eor more than thirty years 
this house diil the largest brokerage and bullion busi- 
ness of an)- establishment on Wall .Street, and with a 
.skill, judgment, and business caution that carried it 
safely through all the financial crises that li,i\e jjecn 
known on that street. Ne\er once did it fail to live up 
to an Liiji'M inent, — .i fict .ilmost witlmut parallel in the 



financial story of Wall Street. This record was largel)' 
the result of Mr. Trevor's sagacity and foresight. His 
long experience, combined with his native intelligence 
and business shrewdness, made his opinions highly re- 
spected, and many of the pmniincnt capitalists of New 
York sought his advice, while numerous financial poli- 
cies were trusted to his judgment. In all his life he was 
a man of the strictest integrit)-, straightforward in his 
business methods, and with an innate haired of sli.un and 
hypocrisy. 

Mr. Trevor was of a modest and retiring disposition, 
strongly religious in sentiment, and during his whole 
mature life a member of the Baptist Church. He, in 
conjunction with Mr. Colgate, contributed the entire cost 
of the Warburton Axeiuie Baptist Church in Yonkers, 
one of the finest church edifices in the .State, and with 
which he was for many years officiall}- connected. Ik- 
was in addition a generous contributor to m.uiy interests 
connected with the Ba]Hist ilenomination. 

The subject of Christian education elicited his warmest 
sympathy and support, he giving many generous dona- 
tions to this cause. The Rochester Theological Semi- 
nary and the Rochester University, in particular, were 
the recipients of his bounty, and owed to him their 
chief support in the darkest days of their careers. They 
had declined during the war, and it was by his ;u'd the)- 
were placed on a self-supporting basis. He continued to 
contrilnite largely to these institutions until his death, the 
.seminary receiving Si 25.000. and the university S170.000. 
from him after 1875, with a pledge of 550,000 more to the 
university shortly before his death. He donated to them 
also Trevor Hall and the gymnasium. Colgate Univer- 
sity — then called Hamilton — receixeil a large donation 
fiom his hands. 

I-'or many years Mr. Trevor was jiresiilent of the hoard 
of trustees of Rochester Theological Seminar)-, and a 
member of the board of the university. The trustees 
of the seminary, grateful for his generous aid, proposed 
to name their institution after him, but this he decisi\el)' 
refused. In addition to the institutions named, Mr. 
Trevor contributed liberally to missionary societies at 
home antl abroad anti to needy churches in various 
States, his total benefactions during his life amounting to 
more than a million dollars. 

Politically he was a Republican. He contributed 
freel)- to the ])art\- funds, but declined all partici])ation in 
political honors, with the one exception that he consented 
to serve as Presidential elector in the Garfield and .\rlhur 
campaign. He was well \ersed in the jjolitical anil 
social cpiestions of the lia)-, but his native reserve caused 
him to shrink from ;ni)- oflficial posts of dut)-. Mr. 
Trevor died December 22, 1S90. leaving a wife and four 
chililren, two sons and two daughters. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



289 



SILAS S. PACKARD. 

Silas Sadler Packard, widely known in the field of 
literature and education, was born at Cuniniin<jton, Mas- 
sachusetts, April 28, 182C, being a descendant in the 
sixth generation of Samuel Packard, who came from 
England to the Plymouth Colony in 163S. His father, 
Chester Packard, was a skilled mechanic, who built, 
largel)- with his own hands, a woolen factor}' in Cum- 
niington, devised its machinery, and finally operated it. 
He removed in 1833 to P'redonia, a village of Licking 
Count)-, Ohio. Here his son Silas, whose native turn 
was stronglj' directed towards literature, found but scanty 
educational opportunities. At the age of fifteen he en- 
tered the academy at Granville, six miles from his home, 
and spent there two terms, supporting himself mean- 
while by sawing and splitting wood, making garden, and 
caring for a horse. He proved a ver_\- ajit scholar in 
grammar and mathematics, was skillful at "composition," 
and displa)'cd unusual powers in penmanship. 

He began teaching penmanship when sixteen, and 
afterwards taught a country school, " boarding round" 
according to the Western custom at that date. He went 
to Kentucky in 1845, and there taught writing and other 
branches for two years, also doing a little at portrait- 
painting, of which he had gained some slight knowl- 
edge. Of his triumphs in this direction the most notable 
was the portrait of an old man with a corn-cob pipe, the 
family dog recognizing the pipe witli manifestations of 
delight. 

In 184S he obtained a position as writing teacher in 
Partlett's Commercial College, Cincinnati, where he re- 
mained till 1850, afterwards teaching for one year in 
Adrian, Michigan, and two years in Lockport, New 
York. In the spring of 1853 he removed to Tona- 
wanda. New York, and there established a weekly paper, 
the Niagara River Pilot, which he conducted for three 
years, advocating vigorously but unsuccessfulh' the di- 
version of the lake traffic from the ice-bound harbor of 
Buffalo to the more open and extensive one of Tona- 
wanda. 

Mr. Packard began teaching again in 1856, becoming 
associated with Brwant & Stratton in the management of 
their Buffalo business college. Shortly afterwards he 
joined with Mr. Stratton in organizing a Bryant & Strat- 
ton college at Chicago, and in 1857 he organized a similar 
college in Albany. He came to New York City in the 
succeeding year and there opened the Bryant, Stratton 
& Packard College in the Cooper Union building, of 
which he was the first tenant. 

Shortlj' after his advent in New York he established 
a moiitliK- magazine, the Aiiuricaii McrcJiaiit, which. 




however, had but a brief period of existence. During 
1859 and i860 his leisure from school duties was occu- 
pied in preparing the Bryant & Stratton series of text- 
books, which are still used as standard works in business 
colleges generally, and also in other schools. His ne.xt 
literar)- enterprise was the jjublication of Packard's 
Moiitiily, issued and edited b}- him from 1868 to 1S70. 
This periodical became quite popular and ]3ro\-ed a sub- 
stantial success. 

In 1867 Mr. Packard purchased the interest of his 
partners in the college, and changed its name to that 
which it continues to hear, Packard's Business College. 
This college now occupies the building formerly occu- 
pied by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at 
Twenty-third Street and Fourth Avenue, and has at- 
tained a reputation which places it on a level with the 
best business colleges in the country. Mr. Packard is 
the oldest living business college teacher who has been 
continually employed in that work, and is looked upon 
as the acknowledged leader in that department of edu- 
cation, while the great development of business colleges 
is largely due to his industr)-, ability, and liberality, 
he having constantly striven to advance other interests 
than his own. The Business Educators' Association of 
America was mainly established by him, and the com- 
mercial schools of France, particularly those of Paris 
and Rouen, were based in great measure on the methods 
pursued in his school. The same may be said of the 
" Bureau Commercial" of the Antwerp School of Busi- 
ness. The Business College Exhibit at the Chicago 
World's Fair was largely conducted under Mr. Packard's 
direction and inspiration. # 



290 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




OLIV'HK HOYT. 

Ui.UKR HovT was born at Staiiifoicl, Connecticut, 
August 20, 1S23, the son of Joseph B. Hoyt, and the 
descendant of a prominent New England frimily. Of 
the American Hoyts, tlie first on record, Simon Iloyt, 
came from Somerset, England, before 162S, being gi\cn 
in tiie list of the first settlers of Cliailestuwn, Massachu- 
setts, in that )'ear. He and his tlesccndants pla\-ed an 
active part in colonial New England history, and Samuel 
Iloyt, great grandfather of the subject of our sketch, a 
large land-holder at Stamford, was a sergeant in tJie 
Revolutionary War. 

Oliver IIr)yt received his education in the schools of 
his native town. He learned the leather business, became 
proficient in it, and in 1844, when twenty-one years of 
age, formed a partnership with his brotiier William, 
establishing in the district then known as " the Swamp," 
in the city of New York, the leather house of W. & O. 
Iloyt, which in time became one of the greatest and 
most reliable in the metroi)olis. The original firm-name 
was retained fi>r ten \-ears, when Joseph, another brother, 
was admitted, and the title changed to Iloyt Brothers, 
under which the later great reputation of the house was 
gained. I'our years subsecpiently another brollier, the 
youngest of the ten children of the family, Mark IIo\'t, 
was admitted. Iloyt Brothers have pursued a highly 
prosperous business career, and are now leading members 
of the United States Leather Company, a consoliiiation of 
the chief tanning interests of the country, with a capital 
of Si 2,000,000, and by far the greatest entcrjirise ever 
organized in the leather iiulustr)-. 



Outside the prosperous firm in which Oliver Hoyt 
was a leading member, he became connected with other 
interests and was an active participant in public affairs. 
He took part in the incorporation of the National Park 
Bank, and was one of its directors during the remainder 
of his life. He was also, for many years, on the board 
of directors of the Home ami tJie Ph(eni.\ Insurance 
Companies. Politicalh- he was a stanch Republican, 
and took an active part in political affairs, serving for 
three terms as State .senator in Connecticut, during two 
of which he acted as president />ro ton. of the Senate. 
He served in 1878 as chairman of the Joint Special Com- 
mittee on Federal Relations and of the Committee on 
State E.Kpenditures. In 1879 he was offered the nomina- 
tion for governor of Connecticut, but declined the hcaior ; 
and it has been stated that " there was no civil apjjoint- 
mcnt uiulcr the general go\crnment that President Grant 
would not have bestowed on Mr. Hoj-t, but political 
offices had no attraction for him." 

Mr. llo\'t was an ardent and unswerving friend and 
su])portcr of General Grant throughout his career. He 
\oted for him in 1872 as a member of the board of 
Presidential electors, was one of the contributors and 
trustees of the fund of $250,000 raised in New York 
for his benefit in the rev'erses of his later years, and 
an earnest advocate and supporter of the great general 
until death carrietl him awa}-. 

Aside from business and political relations, Mr. Hoyt 
took a warm interest in religion and philanthropy. He 
was an active member of the Methoiiist Church, on 
whose General Conference he served for three terms, 
while for years he was equally active and efficient in 
the board of the General Missionary Society and was 
treasurer of the Board of Education of the Church. 
He representetl this Church in 1881 as a delegate to the 
International Assembly of Methodists in London. He 
gave freely of his means in support of the benevolent 
and other interests of the Methodist Church, and also 
of other institutions, his gifts to religious and educa- 
tional interests being so numerous that we can nierely 
refer to them. In educational matters he was particularlv 
interested in and a free contributor to Wesleyan Univer- 
sity, Cornell College, and the Iowa Wesleyan University. 

To the various subjects of interest mentioned we may 
add that of the temperance cau.se, of which Mr. Hoyt 
was a vigorous advocate, being an untiring enem\- of 
the liquor traffic, and a close frientl of General Clinton 
B. Fisk, the Prohibition canditlate for President. Mr. 
Hoyt died May 5, 18S7, as the result of an accitlent, he 
being thrown from his carriage while driving, and se- 
verely injured. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



291 



MARK HOYT. 

Joseph Blachlev Hovt, of Stamford, Connecticut, of 
wliose ancestry mention has been made in our sketch 
of Oliver Hoyt, had a family of ten children, of whom 
Mark, the youngest, was born May 5, 1835. His early 
education was such as could be had at the Stamford 
[lublic schools, his studies being completed at a boarding- 
school in Darien, Connecticut. His father, who pursued 
the business of farming, and se\-eral of whose children 
IkkI left home to engage in mercantile business, wished 
to keep his )-oungest son at home, and train him up to 
succeetl him on the farm. But the boy had no taste for 
rural pursuits, his aspirations being towards a more 
active and stirring career. Several of his older brothers 
were engaged in the leather business, and in compliance 
with his strong desire his father apprenticed him, when 
si.xtcen \-cars of age, to a term of fi\-c years in the 
leather and tanning trade. 

This service was begun in Ulster County, New York, 
and continued here for three years, the last two years of 
his apprenticeship being served in New York City. On 
the comjiletion of this period of instruction and hard 
work he spent three years as a clerk in the establishment 
of liis brothers, William, 01i\er, and Joseph, who had 
recently, under the title of Hoyt Brothers, founded a 
leather house in New Y^ork. Mark qiiickl)- showed 
himself the equal of his brothers in business ability, and 
at the end of his period of clerkship was admitted as a 
partner in the firm. 

This house, now one of the most extensive antl wealth}- 
in the leatlier business in this country, has its principal 
warehouse and offices at 72 Gold Street, New York. 
It owns large bark lands and tanneries in renns^-lvania 
and New Y'ork, and, aside from its business in this coun- 
try, enjoys a large export trade with Europe, — principally 
with England. Mark Hoyt withdrew from the firm in 
1868, and entered the brokerage business under the name 
of Mark Hoyt & Co. He continued this, however, only 
for two \-ears, returning in 1S70 to the firm of Hoyt 
Brothers, w ith w hich he has since remained, antl of which 
he is now the leading spirit. 

In the earl}- part of 1893 Mr. Hoyt took an active 
part in j^romoting the organization of the United States 
Leather Company, much the greatest enterprise ever 
undertaken in the leather business, and rankincr hi<7h for 
magnitude and solidity among the \-arious consolidated 
mercantile organizations of the present day. This great 
trust, a consolidation of the principal tanning interests of 
this country, has a capital of Si 2,000,000, half of which 
represents the cash values of the properties included. 




Mark Ho_\-t has been principally instrumental in its or- 
ganization, and was chosen its first vice-presitlent. It is 
managed by a board of twenty-seven directors, of whom 
Mr. Hoyt is one of the most active and prominent. 

Mr. Hoyt has a war record which calls for our atten- 
tion. Politically he has always been a Republican, voting 
for I-'remont for President in 1856, and for ever\- Repub- 
lican candidate since. After the outbreak of the ci\il war 
he heartily entered into the conflict, raising the One 
Hundred and Seventy-sixth Regiment of New York 
Volunteers. This regimental organization, known as the 
" Ironsides," was mustered into the United States service, 
under Colonel Hoyt, on December 22, 1862, and left 
New York for the fiont in Januar\-, 1863. It ser\-ed in 
the campaigns about New Orleans and on the Red 
River, and later in V'irginia and the Carolinas, and 
was mustered out of ser\icc at Sa\'annah on April 
27, 1866. 

Since the close of his military service Colonel Hoyt 
has given much attention to the subject of public edu- 
cation, being a warm adxocate of an extension of the 
facilities for higher education. He is a trustee of the 
Adelphia Academ\-, in Brooklyn ; of the VVcsleyan Uni- 
versity, Middlctown, Connecticut; of the American Uni- 
versity, Washington, District of Columbia ; and trustee 
and treasurer of the Drew Theological Seminary, Madi- 
son, New Jersey. He is also a trustee of the Brooklyn 
Museum of Arts and Sciences, and religiously has long 
been a member of the Methodist Church. He has two 
children, one, Mark Hoyt, Jr., being connected with the 
Boston branch of the firm. • 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




\HRY RHV. HUGENE AUGUSTUS HOFFMAN, 
D.D.. I.I..I).. D.C.L. 

I'lii'. \'ci>- Rc\'. Eugene Augustus Hoffman, 1)1)., 
LL.D., IJ.C.L., dean of the General Theological Scni- 
in:ir\'. is the representative of an old Knickerbocker 
family, being sixth in descent from Martinus llollnian, 
who came to tliis country from llnUand in 1640. In 
the registers of the old Dutch churches of New York, 
Kingston, and Red Hook are to be found continuous 
records of the births, marriages, and burials of tile Hoff- 
mans, who occupied an honorable and influential jjosi- 
tion in Ulster and Dutchess Counties, while the State 
annals make honorable mention of the ser\ices rendered 
by the ancestors of Dean Hoffman to the colonial gov- 
ernment, and later U> that of the republic, in both militar)- 
and civil offices. 

His father, Samuel Verplanck Hoffman, who was born 
in New York in 1802, and ilied in 1880, was admitted to 
the bar, and practiced law for a few years, retiring in 
1828. He established the celebrated dry-goods commis- 
sion house of Hoffman & Waklo, in which he afterwards 
became a special partner. He was a trustee of several 
charitable institutions and a director of the Republic and 
Hoffman I'ire Insurance CoTnpanies. He married Glor- 
\ina Kossell Storm, b)' whom he had two sons, both of 
whom are in the ministrv of the Episcopal Church. 

luigene ^Augustus Hoffman was born in New York, 
March 21, 1829. He was educated at Columbia Gram- 
niar-School and Rutgers College, where he was gradu- 
ated at the age of eighteen. Eroni Rutgers lie went to 
Harvard, receiving from that university tlic degrees of 
H.A. and MA. successively. He entered the General 
Theological Seminary in 1848, graduating in 185 1, and 
was ordained ileacon by Hishop Doane, of New Jersey, 
the same year. His parochial work, lasting from 1851 



to 1879, was in Christ Church, Elizabeth, N. J., St. 
Mary's Church, Burlington, N. J., Grace Church, 
Brooklyn Heights, and St. Mark's Church, Philadel- 
phia, of which parishes he was successiveK' rector. In 
all these parishes he left his mark in churches and 
parish buildings erected or freed from debt, congregations 
gathered in, and an increased earnestness among his 
flock, and in e\ er_\- case of a severance from his parochial 
comiection it was with deep regret and ni,in\- tokens of 
respect and affection on the part of his parisiiioners. He 
was also, during these years, an active member of the 
boards of trustees of the \arious diocesan institutions. 

In 1879 he accepted the office of dean of the General 
Theological .Seminary. The inscription to Sir Christo- 
pher Wren in St. Paul's Cathedral might well be written 
of Dean Hoffman in Chelsea Square, " .SV iiioiiuiiuiitiiiii 
nqiiiris, ciiriiiiispicc," for the present Theological Sem- 
inary is an enduring monument of his energy, devotion, 
and ability. Previous to his election the seminary had 
been languishing for lack of funds ; the professors' ser- 
vices were ill-reciuited ; the buiklings were unsanitary 
and inadequate to the needs of tlie institution. Dean 
Ilol'fman set himself to repair all this, calletl a meeting 
of gentlemen to co-operate with him, and in the si.xteen 
years that ha\e ekqised since his ap|ioiiitment has secured 
by his efforts and the munificence of himself and his family 
over a million dollars to the seminary. A magnificent 
pile of buildings, forming the cast quadrangle of Chel.sea 
Square, now presents an imposing front on Ninth Axenue, 
and extends down Twentieth and Twenty-first Streets, 
including fi\c halls as dormitories for the students, a 
fire-proof librar\- building, lecture-rooms for the dif- 
ferent professors, professors' houses, and a beautiful 
Memorial Cha[)el, erected by the mother of the ilean 
in memory of her hiisb.md l)niing Dean iloffinan's 
tenure of office, also, two new professorships ha\e been 
establisheil and three professorships have been amply 
endowed by iiimself and family, as has also the office of 
dean. 

Dean Hoffman is a man of tibilitj- and culture, a mem- 
ber of most of the literary and scientific societies of New 
York, and oui' whom the colleges and universities of 
this countr)- anti Canada have delightetl to honor by the 
conferring of degrees. He is also a \aluable arul ener- 
getic memiKi of the boards of the chief ciiurcli charities, 
and has rejiresented the diocese of New York in tlie last 
five General Conventions. He is a remarkable instance 
of a combination of great business powers, — which he 
exorcises in the administration and personal supervision 
of his jiroperty, — executive abilitj- in the conduct of any 
interests committed to him, ami devoted churchmanship. 
I le is a man of wide .sympathies, and gives out of his 
abimd.ince largel)-, but uiiostentatiousK", to man)- public 
and private charities. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



293 



ALONZO B. CORNELL. 

Alonzo B. Cornell, Go\-crnor nf New York from 
1880 to 1883, was born at Ithaca, in that State, January 
22, 1832. He received an cdLication in an academy at 
his native place, and early in life engaged in the business 
of telegraphy, entering an office at Tro}', New York. 
His father, Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell Uni\ersity, 
had been associated with Professor Morse in the building 
of the first telegraph line, and in 1854 took a prominent 
part in the formation of the Western Union Telegraph 
Compan\% by the consolidation of several of the early 
companies. The son entered actively into the spirit of 
his father's business, becoming successively operator, 
manager, superintendent, and director in the original 
companies and in the Western Union, and eventually 
\ice president and president of the latter organization. 

In 1869 President Grant appointed Mr. Cornell sur- 
veyor of customs for the port of New York, an office 
whose duties he performed so satisfactorily that in the 
subsequent year he was nominated by the President 
assistant treasurer of the United States at New York. 
He declined this nomination, however, preferring to re- 
tain his post in the customs. In 1872 he was nominated 
and elected to the New York State Legislature, which he 
resigned his official position to accept. He had had no 
previous experience in parliamentary proceedings and 
the Legislature contained numerous men of great legis- 
lative experience, yet Mr. Cornell was paid the imprece- 
dented compliment to a new member of an unanimous 
choice for the office of Speaker by the action of the 
Republican caucus. There could have been no higher 
testimonial of the estimate which was placed on his 
intelligence and political ability by the members of his 
party, and he justified the confidence placed in him by 
a successful discharge of his duty as presiding officer. 

At the close of his term of office he declined a re- 
nomination, though an election would ha\c been certain 
to follow, preferring to resume the duties of his position 
as vice-president of the Western L^nion Telegraph Com- 
pany. In the year 1875 he served as acting president 
of the company, during the long absence in Europe 
of its president, William Orton. Near the close of 1876 
President Grant appointed him naval officer of customs 
for the port of New York, a position which he held till 
July, 1878, when, through factional opposition, based on 
political motives exclusively, he and Collector Arthur 
were suspended from their positions by President Hayes. 
The feeling of the people concerning this suspension was 
demonstrated at the ensuing election, when Mr. Cornell 
was elected Governor of the State of New York and 
General Arthur Vice-President of the United States. 

Governor Cornell took his seat January i, 1880, and 
served three years with great popular satisfaction, his 
administration being distinguished for economy, freedom 

38 




from official scandal, and general excellence in its ap- 
pointments. He vetoed a number of prominent bills, in 
eveiy case with public approval. ^Vmong these meas- 
ures were the code of criminal procedure passed by the 
1880 Legislature, the Croton aqueduct bill, the appropria- 
tion bill for the new capitol building, the general street 
railway bill of 1882, and man)- others, all of them con- 
taining features which rendered them obnoxious to his 
idea of the public good. His uncompromising vetoes of 
the supply bills were cordially approved by the people 
as remedies urgently needed for the correction of ex- 
tra\-agant and scandalous legislation. 

While thus opposing all acts likely to be detrimental 
to the public service. Governor Cornell sustained all 
legislation of a salutary and useful character. The act 
making women eligible as school-electors and school- 
ofificers was recommended and approved b_\- him. In 
1882 he recommended an amendment to the usurj- laws 
which has proved to be a financial measure of the high- 
est importance, and one which has gone further towards 
making New York City one of the chief monetary centres 
of the world than any other legislative act. The State 
railway commission was strongly urged b\- him, and 
various other important measures were advanced or sus- 
tained. His final annual message was an admirable 
document in its exposition of the affairs of the State. 

Governor Cornell was a candidate for rcnomination in 
1882, but was set aside by the politicians of the party, 
who did not approve of his course. The dissatisfaction 
I caused b>- this action resultctl in a large Republican 
support of the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland, 
j who was elected by nearly two hundred thousand ma- 
jority. Mr. Cornell has not since Jhtered political life. 
He resides in New York Cit)-, occupied with business 
interests. 



294 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




RF.V. ISAAC FKRRIS, D.I). 

Early in the .seventeenth centiiiv' Jnlm l-"enis, an 
inimi;^rant from Leicc.stersliire, lui^'land, .settled in tlie 
town of Fairfield, Connecticut, and at a later period be- 
came one of the proprietors of Throckmorton's Neck, 
in Westchester County, New York. His descendants 
subsequently resided in this locality, his great-grandson. 
Captain John Ferris, being the father of Isaac Ferris, the 
subject of our sketch, who was born in tlie city of New 
York, on tlie 9th day of October, 1798. lie was ])re- 
parcd for college b\' the celebratcil blind classical teacher. 
Professor Ncilson, and cm reaching a proper age entereil 
at Columbia College, from which he graduated in the 
class of 1816. Among his classmates were I'rcdcrick 
dc Peystcr, John Ireland, James VV. Eastburn, and Rich- 
ard Codman, all well-known personages in subsequent 
years. 

Immediately after his graduation Mr. l-'erris became 
instructor in Latin in the Albany Academy. He had, 
however, decided to devote himself to the ministry, and 
retiring from his ])osition as instructor, he entered the 
Theological Seminary, from which lie graduateil in 1820. 
He now spent a short ])eriod in missionary duty in the 
Mohawk Valley, which was followed b)' an offer of a 
position in the Theological Seminar)- to succeeil I )r. 
John M. Mason, and also a call to the pastorate of the 
Dutch Church, at New Hrnnsuiik, New Jersey, which 



he accepted in preference to the professorship. In 1S22 
he was elected a trustee of Queen's (now Rutgers) Col- 
lege in that city. In October, 1824, he became pastor 
of the Midillc Dutch Church, at Albany, New- York, 
where he continued for twcKc \'ears. 

In 1833, Ml'. I'crris was honored with the degree of 
D.D. from L'nion College; and in 1853 that of LL.D. 
w-as conferred upon him by Columbia College. In 1856 
he was called to the Market Street Church, then the 
most fashionable church in the aristocratic old seventh 
ward of New York City, with which he remained con- 
nected for a long period subsequently. 

Dr. Ferris was one of the corporate members of the 
American lioard of Foreign Missions, his service in which 
has received the honorable recognition of the large girls' 
school in Yokohama bcmg named Ferris Seminary. In 
1840 he became connected with the American Bible 
Society, with which he remained long associated. He 
was also largely instrumental in organizing the Young 
Men's Christian Association of New York, while Rutgers 
Female Seminary, more recently known as Rutgers Fe- 
male College, one of the first institutions to afford higher 
education for women in the world, was j)Iannetl and 
established In' him. 

In 1852, 1)\- unanimous vote. Dr. Ferris was cho.sen 
chancellor of the University of New York, a post of 
dut>- which called at that time for the highest qualit)- of 
organizing skill and the most unremitting devotion. He 
found the university at the lowest jiossible ebb, over- 
whelmed with debt, with no means, and a mere handful 
of stutleiits. I'"rom this threatening condition Dr. Ferris 
rescued it. With his rare e.\ecuti\e abilit), and by great 
personal elTort, he put the college on its feet, jjaid its 
debts, secured for it a liberal endowment, and left it a 
prosperous institution, after which, in 1S70, he retired 
from acti\e dut)- at the uni\ersit)', antl became Chancel- 
lor Emeritus. Soon afterwards he removed to Koselle, 
New Jersey, where he ended an active and useful life on 
the 13th of June, 1873. 

Dr. Ferris was tall, of very large frame, and much 
dignity of manner. He was a man of great benevolence 
and amiability, genial ami sympathetic in his intercourse 
with his parishioners, and wiilely esteccmed in the com- 
munity of his residence. He was eminent as a scholar, 
of imtiring industr_\- in his ijroles^ional duties, and was 
much beloveil by all who came into intim.ite contact 
with him. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



295 



MORRIS P. FERRIS. 

MoRKis Patterson Ferris, prominent among the 
}-oungcr members of the legal profession in New York- 
City, is a son of Rc\\ Isaac Ferris, D.D., LL.D., for 
many years a leading churchman of the metropolis and 
chancellor of its university, and Letitia Storm. He was 
born October 3, 1855, in New York City, which has 
remained his place of residence throughout his career. 
He was educated at the University of New York, from 
which he was a member of the class of 1874. Having 
decideti tn follow the law as his profession, he entered 
the University Law School, where, after a full course 
of study in legal principles and practice, he graduated 
in 1876. He was immediate!)' admitted to the bar, 
his law school work having been supplemented by two 
years' study in the offices of Brown, Hall & Vander- 
poel, and Vanderpoel, Green & Cuming, an experience 
which amply fitted him for a successful career in the jiro- 
fession he had chosen. 

Before settling down to practice, Mr. Ferris tra\eled 
extcnsixel)- in the United States, partly as a rela.\ation 
from his \-ears of close application at school- work, partly 
from a laudable ambition to widen his knowledge of man 
and affiiirs b)' that experience which is onl)- to be ob- 
tained from tra\el. This probationary period at an end 
he returned to New York, prepared to engage actively 
in practice, and formed there a legal partnership with 
Hon. John A. Taylor, corporation counsel of the city of 
Brookl)-n under Mayor Seth Low. The firm thus or- 
ganized, that of Taylor & Ferris, proved successful from 
the start, and in the years of its existence gained an 
extensive law practice, in which Mr. Ferris proved him- 
self a counselor of great skill and ability. He continued 
associated with Mr. Ta\-lor until 1890, since which date 
Mr. I'erris has practiced alone. He has an e.xtensi\-e 
and lucrative business, ha\'ing been intrusted with the 



charge of some large estates and litigations, while his 
legal standing is of a high grade, and his practice steadily 
augmenting. 

In politics he is an ardent Republican, and was for 
several years a member of the executive committee of 
the Brooklyn Young Republican Club. He has not, 
however, sought for political honor, the duties of his 
profession leaving him no leisure for such occupation. 
His spare hours, indeed, are otherwise and doubtless 
more creditably filled, he having devoted his leisure 
hours for many years to an ardent and enthusiastic study 
of the local history and genealogy of the city of New 
York, a course of stud\- which has led to many interest- 
ing results, and in which he has accumulated a large 
amount of curious data and \aluable material. 

His researches in this direction have led him into 
membership in the Long Island Historical Societ)- 
and the New York Genealogical and Biographical 
Society, in the work of both of which he is earnestly 
interested. Other associations having cognate purposes 
of which he is a member are the Huguenot Society, 
the Sons of the Revolution, and the Society of Colonial 
Wars, while he is Registrar of the Society of the War 
of 1 81 2. He is a member of the Advisory Counsel of 
the Society of Daughters of the Cincinnati, and was 
one of the original members of the Lawyers' and Delta 
Phi Clubs. 

In 1879 Mr. Ferris married Marj^ Lanman Douw, 
daughter of Colonel John de Peyster Douw, of Pough- 
keepsie. New York. Mrs. Ferris has taken up the 
special study of her husband with an ardor equal to 
his own, having become, like him, an historical enthusiast, 
while she is the author of man)- charming brochures 
on early New York and New England life, subjects to 
which she has specially de\oted her attention. Mr. 
Ferris makes his home at Yonkers, New York, where 
he is a member of the St. Andrew's Golf Club. 



296 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ROBERT MACLAY. 

The MacLaij^s, the Scottisli ancestors of the Amer- 
ican Maclays, can be traced back in the Highlands for 
man}- centuries. Charles Macl.iy came in 1734 to Pcnn- 
syhania, where liis sons and grandsons played prominent 
parts. Archibald Maclay, foiiniler of the New York 
branch of the famil\-, a Congregational minister, came to 
New York in 1805. He here became a Baptist, preached 
for many years, and afterwards served as vice-president 
and traveling secretary of the American and Foreign 
liible Society, eventually becoming president of the 
American Bible Union. Robert II. Maclay, one of his 
sons, studied medicine and became a prominent physician 
of New York City. He was for nian\- \cars piesidcnt 
of the New York Savings Bank. 

Robert Maclay, the eldest surviving child of Robert 
II. and I'-liza L. Maclay, was born in New York, June 
ir, 1834. He began his collegiate education at the 
Universit)- of the City of New York, but at the age of 
fourteen removed to Illinois, where his course of study 
was completed in Judson College, of that State. He 
rcmainetl in the West till twenty years of age, when he 
returned to New York and began business as a dealer 
in real estate, in which he was very successful. In 1865 
he married Georgiana Barmore, whose father, Ali)ert 
Barmore, was the founder and first president of the 
Knickerbocker Ice Compan)-. Mr. Maclay became a 
director in this important corporation, and in 1868 was 
elected its vice-president and treasurer. In 1875, on the 
death of Mr. Barmore, he was elected its president, 
which office he has retaineil ever since. It is scarcely 
necessary to remark that this corporation is the largest 
of its kind in the world, and does an immense annual 
business. 

Mr. Maclay 's business connections have become very 



extended, he being interested in man)- commercial enter- 
prises, and serving as president of the Knickerbocker 
Trust Company, vice-president of the Bowery Savings 
Bank, and director of the People's Bank. In 1892 the 
Supreme Court appointed him a member of the Rapid 
Transit Commission, formed to in\cstigate and report on 
the work of the previous commission. The report made 
by this body was confirmed by the Supreme Court. Mr. 
Maclay's most important public duty, however, has been 
performed in connection with the Board of Education of 
New York City, of which, since 1891, he has been one 
of the most active and influential members. He is chair- 
man of the building committee of the board, its most 
important committee, and his able management in this 
responsible position has won him much commendation 
from press and ])eop!e. He has strenuously advocated 
reform in school administration, but is strongly opposed 
to the proposition to retire public-school teachers on 
half-pay, claiming that the teachers have no more ju.st 
right to such an application of the city funds than the 
officers of any other branch of the municipal govern- 
ment. 

He says, " How is it that assemblymen and senators 
come from Utica, Ithaca, l-llmira, Rochester, Buffalo, 
Brookhn, and e\er)- other part of this great lunpire 
1 State, and ask the Legislature at Alban\- to pass a special 
law providing pensions for teachers in the public schools 
of New York City, while thc)- make no such provision 
for school-teachers in other parts of the State ? . . . Whj- 
should not janitors, inspectors, trustees, clerks, and the 
poor commissioners, and, finally, the widows and children 
of teachers, come into the enjoj-ment of these fashionable 
benefits?" In answer it may be said that the teachers 
of sc\eral of our cities are engaged in ]iro\iding an 
aniuiit\- fund for themselves, which all will acknowledge 
is the proper and just method of proccilure. 

Mr. Machi)- has been thus flatteringly spoken of 1)_\- a 
leading financier in connection with the mention of his 
name for a public office: " i\Ir. Maclaj- is one of the 
leading business men of this cit\-. He is a man of great 
business capacity. He is at the head of one of the 
! greatest corporations in the city. He is identified with 
the financial, social, literary, and business life of this city. 
. . . His high character ami eminent abilities certainl)- 
commend themselves." 

In Connection with the above remarks it ma)- be statetl 
that Mr. Maclay is a member of the Chaml)er of Com- 
merce, the New York Historical Societ)-, and numerous 
clubs; he is an incorjiorator of the Botanical Garden, a 
member of the ailvisory committee of the University of 
the City of New York, a trustee of the Madi.son Avenue 
Baptist Church ami of the Northern Dispensary, and is 
in various other ways acti\'e in the social and |iublic life 
of the city. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



297 



CHARLES V. MAPF.S. 

The founder of the Mapcs famil)- in America, Thomas 
Mapcs, reached New Enghand at an early date, and was 
one of the founders of Southold, Long Ishuul, in 1640. 
Of his descendants, General Jonas Mapes, born in 1768, 
was an officer in the arm\' for nearly forty years. He 
served throughout the War of 181 2, and was commis- 
sioned major-general in 18 16. His son, James J. Mapcs, 
turned his attention to science, and became famous as an 
analytical chemist. He was the deviser of many impor- 
tant chemical processes and mechanical inventions, and 
an able lecturer on chemistry and natural and mechani- 
cal philosoph}'. He was long professor of Chemistr_\' 
and Natural Philosophy at the American Institute, and 
also held the position of president of this institute and 
of the Mechanics' Institute of New York, and was the 
founder and first lecturer of the Franklin Institute of 
Newark. In 1847 1'*^ established the "Mapes Model 
Farm," near Newark, which he occupied till his death, 
developing there the principles of agricultural chemistry 
and editing the Working Fanner. He was also asso- 
ciate editor of the. Journal of Agricnlturc. 

Charles Victor Mapes is the only surviving son of 
Professor Mapes, and was born in New Vork Cit)', July 
4, 1836. He has three sisters, Mary Mapcs Dodge, the 
gifted editor of the St. Nicliolas. Sophy Mapes Tolles, 
the artist, and Catharine T. Ikumell, of San Fi'ancisco. 
When he was eleven years of age his father removed to 
Lyons Farm, New Jerse\', where the growing boy be- 
came fond of fiiin life, and interested himself greatly in 
the application of chemistry to agriculture. When only 
fourteen he had collected a small chemical laboratory. 
Several persons of later prominence were then studying 
agriculture under Professor Mapes, among them George 
A. Waring, author of the " Elements of Agriculture," 
and association with these helped to develop the active 
intellect of the boy. In 1853 he entered Harvard Col- 
lege, where he graduated in 1857, having given his prin- 
cipal attention to the sciences, especially to chemistry. 

He proposed to enter upon a professional career after 
leaving college, but circumstances forced him to engage 
in commercial business, while at the same time assisting 
his father in the editing of the Working Farmer. His 
subsequent career was actively devoted to mercantile 
and manufacturing pursuits, during which he diligently 
continued his youthful studies in agricultural chemistry, 
giving particular attention to the subject of plant feed- 
ing. This field of study had then been little developed, 
and Mr. Mapes gave much attention to it, closely in- 
vestigating, and writing much on this and cognate sub- 
jects. Among his papers which attracted most wide- 
spread attention may be mentioned " Some Rambling 




Notes on Agriculture and Manures," " Effects of Fer- 
tilizers on Different Soils," and " Classification and Re- 
quirements of Crops." TJie last set forth the leading 
ingredients — ammonia, phnsphoiic acid, and potash — of 
the staple crops ; defined the relative importance of these 
in each case, and gave the sources, condition, and 
strength of the fertilizing materials requisite for each 
crop. This information was the result of actual experi- 
ments in growing the crops, and was valuable in accord- 
ance therewith. His researches on Indian corn were 
especially valuable in this connection. It hail been 
maintained that this plant required large quantities of 
nitrogenous fertilizers, was exhausting to the soil, and 
was becoming too costl>- in cultivation for growth in the 
Eastern States. Mr. Mapes demonstrated that, on the 
contrary, if supplied well with potash and phosphoric 
acid, maize would obtain its nitrogen from the atmosphere 
and the deeper soil, and that, instead of being exhaust- 
ing to the soil, it tended to make poor soil suitable for 
grass crops. Mr. Mapes's work in this direction has 
received high commendation from agricultural authors. 

He has served as vice-president and manager |of the 
Mapes Formula and Peruvian Guano Compan\- since its 
organization in 1877, and has been president of the Fer- 
tilizer and Chemical Exchange since its foundation. He 
is director and trustee in the Martin Kalbfleisch Chemi- 
cal Company and other commercial organizations, and 
belongs to many social organizations of New York 
City, being president of the Theta Delta Chi Club, a col- 
lege fraternitj-. He is also a member of various scien- 
tific, art, and historical associations. He was married in 
1863 to Martha M. Halsted, daughter of the late Chan- 
cellor Halsted, of New Jersey. 



298 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JAMES M. HORTON. 

James Madison Hokton, president of the well-known 
J. M. Horton Ice Cream Company, was born near 
Middlctown, Orange County, New York, in 1835. He 
is descended from Barnabas Horton, who emigrated from 
Moiisley, Leicestershire, England, to this country in 1633, 
settling at Hampton, Massacluisetts. From there, in 
1640, lie sailed with others for Long Island, and es- 
tablisiied the settlement of Southold, Suffolk County, 
the first white settlement on the island. The family 
residence which he built there in 1660 is still in an excel- 
lent state of preservation. 

James M. Horton is in the ninth generation from this 
pioneer settler. His father was a well-to-do farmer, and 
his boyhood life was that usual to the sons of farmers, 
except that ill health unfitted him for the laborious labors 
of a farmer's career. The boy, thus relieved from farm 
duty, entered into commerce on a very small scale, which 
mainly consisted in the gathering of berries and various 
other farm ])ri>ducts for sale in the neighboring settle- 
ment of Middlctown. From the start he manifested the 
business instinct which \i\y at the foundation of his 
future successful career, and on the limited scale of his 
youthful \'entures was quite successful in business. In 
his wliolc career he never received a penny in wages, 
except a nominal sum from a brother. 

Before he was eighteen years of age, young I Forton 
made his way to New York City with what lie jjrobably 
considered the large capital of Sioo in his pocket, and 
there went into the milk business. His native sense, 
business tact, and sturdy honesty stood him in good stead 
in this venture, and he progressed steadily in his new 
business, retaining and increasing his capital, and gradu- 
ally extending liis trade among tlie milk producers and 
consumers, until he had gained an excellent i)o.sition in 



this line of traffic. His progress is best indicated by the 
fact that, four years after his reaching New York, and 
when he was still less than twentj'-two years of age, he 
was made president of the Orange County Milk Associa- 
tion. This unusual compliment for one so young shows 
clearly the estimation in which he was held and the posi- 
tion he had gained in the business. He held the presi- 
dency for eleven )-cars, when the state of his health 
obliged him to resign, being unable longer to perform 
its duties. 

By this time Mr. I lorton had accumulated a fair amount 
of capital, a part of which he had invested in a business 
in whose management he had no thought at that time of 
taking an active part, that of the ice cream manufacture. 
It became apparent to him, however, that the concern in 
which his mone)' was invested was \ery poorlj- con- 
ducted, and that the savings in it would soon be lost 
unless some steps were taken to reinvigorate it. His 
health bj- this time had been partially restored, and he 
assumed control of the business himself, throwing into 
it all the energy, tact, and judgment which had told so 
well in his previous career. 

The task he had undertaken was a difficult one. The 
business proved to be in a bad wa\- ; there were serious 
obstacles to be overcome, debts were to be liquidated, 
and it looked much like a waste of time and monc)' to at- 
tempt to sa\e a failing enterjirise. But Mr. Horton had 
an energy and determination that w ere not to be liaffled 
easily, while his pride prevented him from withdrawing 
from an enterprise which he had thus taken in haiul. 
Fnergy and judgment are the essential elements of busi- 
ness success, and so it proved in the present case, though 
it took several years of hard labor before Mr. Horton 
had the business fairlv on its feet. Seemingly hopeless 
as it was when he took hold of it, he gradually got rid 
of its debts, and overcame the opposition which was 
contesting and jilacing everj- obstacle in the wa\- of its 
success. After a few )-ears of effort it began to pa)' 
handsoniel)-, and its proprietor then organized and incor- 
[jorated the present J. M. Horton Ice Cream Company, 
which has since then grown, until to-day it is the largest 
establishment of its kind in the world ; in fact, there is 
none that even ajiproaches the capacity of this enormous 
concern. A few items will serve to show the magnitude 
of the present business. There are employed in the 
business two hinidred and fifty hands, while for deliver)' 
ninety wagons and one hundred and fift)' horses are in 
constant u.sc. Mr. llnrton pcrsonall)' is generous and 
sociable, but not a club man, much preferring home to 
club life. He is religious in disposition, temperate in all 
his habits, and in ever)' way a favorable example of the 
New York man of business. He was married in 1S65 to 
Miss Mary Ann Cassell, of New York City, ami has two 
children, Harry Ca.sscll Horton and Mary Hope Horton. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



299 



COLLIS P. HUNTINGTON. 

CdLLis P. Huntington, one of the most prominent of 
Americans in railroad interests and Wall Street finances, 
was born at Harwinton, Connecticut, October 22, 1821. 
His active business life began at the age of fourteen, the 
following ten years being spent by him in journeys and 
business enterprises in the South and West. Engaging 
in mercantile business with his bi-othcr, they shipped in 
1848 a cargo of goods to California. Mr. Huntington 
quickly followed this consignment, spent some months 
in business on the Isthmus, and then sought California, 
where he engaged in business at Sacramento. Here he 
became associated with Mark Hopkins, and in i860 
devised the scheme of a trans-continental railroad. In 
this five men were associated, Mr. Stanford as president, 
he as vice-president, and Mr. Hopkins as treasurer. 
The scheme was brought to the attention of Congress, 
and an act was passed in 1862 authorizing and \-oting 
aid to such an enterprise. The Central Pacific Company 
was organized in 1864, with an official staff as above 
stated. The raising of capital for the construction of 
the road during the war period was no easy task, and 
the engineering difficulties to be overcome were many 
and great. These difficulties were successfully met, 
however, and since that time Mr. Huntington has been 
the general manager and financial spirit of the road, and 
during its controversy regarding the debt tlue the gov- 
ernment has shown a commendable spirit of fairness and 
care for the interests of the stockholders. 

His interest in the Central Pacific, however, has long 
since been overshadowed by greater \'entures, of more 
recent origin. The building of the Southern Pacific 
from San Francisco to New Orleans, and in particular 
his notable construction race with the Texas Pacific, 
with Tom Scott as his able comijctitor, are matters of 
railroad history which we need but mention. In this 
interesting contest were displayed a fertility of resource 
and a promptness and decisiveness of action which only 
men of remarkable powers could have shown, and which 
constitute part of the romance of the history of railroad 
construction. 

Since that period there has been a vast consolidation 1 
of the interests of trans-Mississippian railroads, including 
the Central Pacific, the various s\'stems wliich traverse ' 
Arizona, Southern California, New Mexico, Texas, and 
Louisiana, the San Francisco antl Portland Line, and 
the Morgan Steamship Line from New Orleans to New 
York, the whole great organization being known as the 
Southern Pacific Company, and operating in all over 
eight thousand miles of trackage and various steam- 
ship lines. This organization was the direct outcome of 
Mr. Huntington's financial polic}-, emanating from Wall 




Street as its centre of action, and with him as its moving 
and guiding spirit. The association also controls rail- 
roads in Mexico and Guatemala. 

In addition to these complex interests, Mr. Huntington 
has had, as an indi\idual, much to do with Eastern roads. 
At one time he controlled the Chesapeake and Ohio 
Railroad, the Kentucky Central, the Louisville, New 
Orleans and Texas from Memphis to New Orleans, and 
the Newport News and Mississippi Valley Company, 
this last including a number of Southern lines. His 
interests here, in connection with the Southern Pacific 
system, gave him the control of an unbroken line of 
rail communication from Porthuul, Oregon, to the At- 
lantic seaboard at Hampton Roads, Virginia. He is, 
furthermore, a large owner in the Pacific Mail and the 
Old Dominion Steamship Lines, is a director of the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, and is financially 
interested in many other important companies. The 
Old Dominion Land Company, organized by him, bought 
land and started a city at Newport News, Virginia, event- 
ually developing into an industrial and manufacturing 
centre which has made this city a seaport of prominent 
importance. His latest striking achievement is the great 
ship-\-ard w hich he has built up at Newport News, an 
industrial entei'prise which employ's nearly two thousand 
men, and is turning out merchant steamships of large 
tonnage and unusual speed. 

Mr. Huntington is not alone a business man, he is a 
philanthropist as well. The results of his benevolence 
are seen in the celebrated Indian and Negro Industrial 
School at Hampton, Virginia, and the Library and Read- 
ing-Room in his own town of Westchester, New York, 
which he has recently organized aiid endowed with one 
hundred thousand dollars. 



300 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




HLBHRT H. ANUHRSON. 

Elbickt Elli:kv Anderson, a prominent figure in tlie 
cause of tariff reform, v/as born in tlic city of New 
York. October 31, 1833, his father being Henry James 
Anderson, who was born in the same city in 1799, and 
was a man of the finest attainments in literature and tlie 
classics, a linguist of unusual proficiency, and j^roficient 
in the higher mathematics. Mr. Anderson spent several 
of his youthful \ears, from 1 843 to 1848, in travel, trav- 
ersing many parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. After 
his return to America he entered Harvard College as 
a student, graduated, studied law, and was admitted to 
tile New York bar in 1854. Dining the more than forty 
years that have passed since then he has practiced his 
j)rofcssion uninterruptedly and with distinguished suc- 
cess. During that period he has been concerned in 
many cases of much notoriety, while lie has had, and 
still has, the management of man\- trusts. In 1868 he 
entered into legal partnership with h'rederick H. Man, 
a firm uliicli remains one of the best known and most 
respected in the city. During the past twelve years Mr. 
Anderson has been especially engaged in railroad litiga- 
tion and plans for the reorganization of railroad com- 
jianies. The case against Jay Gould, brought by the 
Missouri, Kansas and Te.xas Railroad Company, for 
the recovery of interest due on income bond coupons, 
was conducted bv him, and resulted in the enforced 
pa)'nient of over two million dollars in \alue to his 
clients. 

During the civil war Mr. Anderson saw some service 
as a soldier, going to the front as major in the New 
^'ork State militia in the spring of 1862, just after the 
retreat of General Banks in the Shenandoah Valley. | 



His service was short but e\entful. He was made 
prisoner bj- the Confederates under Stonewall Jackson, 
experienced an interval of prison life, was paroled, and 
returned home, — doubtless with a surfeit of Southern 
prison accommodations. 

His career as an advocate of political reform began in 
1 87 1, when he joined actively in the crusade against the 
Tweed Ring. At a later date he joined the Tamman\- 
Hall organization, — then purified b\- the renunal of the 
Ring combine which had so long posed as its leaders, — 
and for some }'ears served as its chairman in the elev- 
enth district. In 1889 he withdrew from this organiza- 
tion, into which corruption was again creeping, and soon 
after joined lulward Cooper, Abram S. Hewitt, and 
William C. Whitney in organizing the County Democ- 
racy, a reform organization within the lines of the party. 
For several years he served as chairman of its general 
committee. In this official position, in 1884, he worked 
energetically for the rout of Tammany Hall, and was 
of material service in the election of William R. Grace 
to the iiia)-oralty over Hugh J. Grant, the candidate of 
Tammany. 

More recently Mr. Anderson has been strongly in- 
terested in the subject of tariff reform, of which he has 
become an able and influential advocate. He opposes 
the tariff on the ground that it is unjust in principle, 
and that it depletes the scanty earnings of the masses 
for the benefit of favored classes, who are enabled to 
accumulate large sums of uncarnctl wealth. His ser- 
vices to the Democratic party in general, antl to !\Ir. 
Cleveland in ])articular during his Presiilential cam- 
paigns, are highly appreciated by the [)art)- all o\er the 
couiitr)-. During the last campaign he was presiilent of 
the Reform Club and chairman of the Tariff Reform 
Committee, and in these positions was enabled to play 
an important part in the election. He never worked 
harder than he ilid in the months preceding the Presi- 
dential election, doing much to prevent the nomination 
of Senator Hill and to secure that of Mr. Cleveland 
at the Chicago eon\ention. antl working earnestlj' and 
efficientl}' afterwards to indoctrinate the people in the 
subject of tariff reform. 

Mr. Anderson has never held office, anil has freiiiiently 
declined the honor of nomination to the bench of the 
Supreme Court of the State, tendered Jiini by admiring 
friends. He has served as school trustee and rapid 
transit commissioner, and in the cases of land taken 
f(jr the Croton Aqueduct and for the Elevated Railroad. 
In 1887 President Cleveland appointed him a commis- 
sioner to investigate the affairs of the Union and Central 
Pacific R.iilroail Companies. The majority report of this 
commission was prepared b)' him. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



301 



HENRY H. ADAMS. 

Henkv Hekschel Adams was born in Collanier, Ohio, 
July g, 1844. He has a distinguished ancestry both in 
England and America, the family, indeed, being traceable 
in a direct line of descent from William the Conqueror, 
tluciiigh his daughter Princess (nnidred antl Sir John ap 
Adam, from wiiom came through man)' generations the 
original American Adams family which has furnished the 
country two Presidents. 

The ininu'grant ancestor was Henry Adams, who 
settled in Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1634. The son of 
the latter, Lieutenant Henry Adams, was killed in King 
I'hilip's War. Benoni Adams, grandfather of the sub- 
ject of our sketch, was a Revolutionary soldier, and his 
father, Lowell L. Adams, fought in the War of i8i2. 
His mother, Hepzibah Thayer, of Surrey, New Hamp- 
shire, was a member of the Anti-Slavery Society before 
the war, and a correspondent of the National Era on tlie 
anti-slavery mo\ement. 

Mr. Adams was educated at Shaw Academy, Cleve- 
land, Ohio. When the civil war broke out, although but 
seventeen j-ears of age, he was full of the old warlike 
and patriotic spirit of the family, and after a year's im- 
patient waiting he enlisted in Company G of the One 
Hundred and Twenty-fifth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry, in the formation of which he did acti\e recruit- 
ing ser\icc. 

His health being at that time delicate, he was unable to 
accept the office of secdud lieutenant tendered him, and 
was detailed on detached ser\-icc in the Department of 
Military Mails. He was, however, with the regiment at 
inter\'als, and took part in the battle of P'ranklin, March 
9, 1863, where, as the officers of the regiment state, he 
valiantly led the charge in advance across the Little 
Harpeth Ri\'er, which dislodged Van Dorn's forces on 
the southern bank. He also participated in the battle 
of Chickamauga, where he acted as aide to General 
Opdycke, and also in those of Rocky P'ace Ridge, Re- 
saca. New Hope Churcli, anil Kenesaw .Mountain, doing 
valuable service in the last two by taking charge of the 
courier lines of communication with Big Shanty and 
Kingston, the seats of supplies ; a ser\ice of the greatest 
danger, the intervening country being full of rebel raiders 
antl bushwhackers. 

Wliile in this perilous service he was captured by 
General Forrest at Athens, Alabama, on September 20, 
1864, together with seventeen of his men, and spent the 
succeeding months in a Confederate prison, enduring the 
severest hardships. He was exchanged in November, 
and reported for duty on the morning of the battle of 
Nashville. He was discharged on March 10, 1865, on 
account of the condition of his health, due to the expos- 
ure and hardship of his prison life. 

At the close of the war Mr. Adams returned to Cleve- 




land, Ohio, where he engaged in the iron business in 
1867, and this with such energy and success that in time 
he became known as one of the ablest iron experts in 
this country. He was largely interested in shipping, and 
was the owner of several vessels engaged in the iron ore 
and grain transportation on the lake. He held a leatling 
position in business and social circles in that cit\', his 
manly cjualities winning him hosts of friends. 

He was made a member of the Board of lulucation, 
and took an acti\-e part in the promotion of school inter- 
ests. He was also a member of the Board of Trade, and 
in 1 88 1 was a delegate to the Boston " Free Ship" Con- 
vention, and one of the committee to lay the proceedings 
of that convention before the Senate at Washington. 

In 1882 Mr. Adams removed to New York City, where 
he became a member of one of the most prominent iron 
concerns in the United States. In 1890 he was elected 
president of tlie Columbus and Hocking Coal and Iron 
Company, and in June, 1891, attained the same office in 
the Henr\- II. .\dams Iron Conipan\-, Incorporatetl, both 
of which concerns were of national reputation. 

Mr. Adams is a member of the New York Board of 
Trade and Transportation and the New York Metal Ex- 
change, is treasurer of the Advisory Board of the Board 
of Education, and a member of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion, the Society of Colonial Wars, Ohio Society, Lawyers' 
Club, Seventh Regiment Veteran Club, Colonial Club. 

He joined Lafayette Post, G. A. R., in 1891, and was 
delegated by the post to decorate Lafayette's tomb in 
Paris on Decoration Day, 1893. After his return he was 
made commander of the post, and has since been quite 
prominent in Grand Army affairs. His addresses, de- 
livered in Paris, France, Pittsburg, fnd New York City, 
at the national encampments and the Grand Army re- 
unions, display fine oratorical skill and ability. 



39 



302 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLES H. TRUAX. 

TiiK Truax faiiiil\- belongs among the earliest Dutch 
settlers of Now Amsterdam, its progenitor reaching this 
country about 1623, where he took up land within the 
present city limits. The name, which in the Dutch 
records became Truy, was afterwards changed to Truax. 
Charles Henry Truax. a descendant of this early im- 
migrant, was born at Diirhamville, Oneida County, New 
York, October 31, 1846, and received his (.cUication at 
Vernon Acadeni)-, at Oneida Seminar)', and finally at 
Hamilton College. He left college in his junior year, 
but the college afterwards, in consequence of his emi- 
nence, conferred on him in 1.S76 the degree of A.M., 
and in 1890 that of LL.D. During his period of school 
life he taught a part of each year, — from 1862 to 1868. 
In the latter year he came to New York, and entered the 
office of his uncle, Chaunce)" W. Shaffer, for the stud)' 
of law. 

He progressed so ra[)idly in this line of study that he 
was admitteil to the bar before the close of that year, 
and entereil at once into practice, at first in association 
with his uncle, but in the fullowing year 1)\- iiiniscU". ( )n 
November 2, 18S0, he was elected judge of the Superior 
Court, — a fourteen-year judgeship, and which he held 
to the end of his term in iS(;4. During his incumbency 
man)' important decisions were given by Judge Truax, 
among tlieni that in the case of Williams vs. The Western 
Union Telegraph Comjiany, which affirmed the right of 
comiKinies to consolidate and issue new stock. This 
decision was appealed from and reversed b\' the General 
Term, but was subsequently sustained and reaffirmed 
by the Court of Appeals. Another decision given by 
Judge Truax, of the greatest importance as regards the 
rights of private real-estate owners, was that declared 
Ma)' 2, 1 887, in the case of Abendroth vs. The New York 



Elevated Railroad Company. In this case he affirmed 
that "plaintiff is entitled to relief by injunction, etc., on 
the ground that the acts of the defendants complained of 
are not necessary incidents of the lawful use of the rail- 
road, and also on the ground that even if they had been 
necessary incidents, they were, so far as they impaired the 
plaintiff's benefit and use of his property and diminished 
its rental value, either trespasses or a pri\atc nuisance, 
for which he had a right of action to recover damages ; 
or such acts were a taking of the plaintiff's private 
propert)' without com]iensation ant! without due process 
of law, which is prohibited 1)\' the constitution of the 
State." 

Judge Truax has taken an acti\e part in social affairs. 
He is a governor of the Manhattan Club, a trustee of 
the Holland Societ)', and belongs as a member to the 
St. Nicholas Society, and a member of other social or- 
ganizations. I Ic is a trustee of the Mott Memorial 
Librar)', and for seven )ears was a trustee of the Church 
of the Puritans. He was formerly acti\e in athletic 
games, and is still a member of the New York Athletic 
Club. 

Judge Trua.x's chief pleasure, however, is taken in 
travel and book collection. He has spent much time 
in all the principal cities of Europe, and has collected 
hosts of valuable books. I lis residence contains full)' ten 
thousand volumes, many of them of great value, being 
okl and rare editions, or splendidly reprinted anil illu- 
minatet! manuscrijits of the old masters of book-making. 
In addition to these treasures, he has ])resented to Ham- 
ilton College a valuable lii)rar\- of tweKe hundred aiul 
fifty volumes, which is known as the Trua.x Classical 
Library. 

This sketch of Judge Truax's career ma)- be fit!)' 
completed by a mention of his brother, Chaunccy S. 
Truax, born March 11, 1854, one of the most successful 
lawyers of New York Cit)', and a member of the 1894 
constitutional convention of the State of New York. 
Shortl)' after his graihiation from the Law School of 
Cohmibia College he was appointed to a professorship 
in Robert College, Constantinojile. an institution foiuuleil 
during the Crimean War, antl which has been of much 
service in adding to the higher educational facilities of 
that Oriental city. Mr. Truax served there as professor 
for a year and a half, and took this opportunity to prose- 
cute researches in history and ancient law, in which he 
was earnestly interested. He visited all the classical 
localities in doing so, and went carefidl)' o\er the site 
of Tro)' while Dr. Schliemami was making his celebrated 
exca\ations there. Since his return to this countr)' he 
has been ver)' actively engaged in legal practice, in w hicli 
he has had great financial and jirofessional success, and 
occupies to-day a high jiosition among the younger 
members of the New York bar. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



303 



GENERAL THOMAS H. HUBBARD. 



Thomas H. HuiiiiARo was born at ITallowell, Maine, 
December 20. 183S. His fatiier and grandfatlier had 
been piu'sicians in that State, the hitter, a nati\-e of New 
Hampshire, being one of tlie early settlers of Readville, 
Maine. Dr. John Hubbanl, his fathei', was a skillful 
surgeon, and a man of unusual intellectual ability, who 
was active in the public service of his State. He was 
elected to the State Senate in 1843, and in 184S became 
governor of Maine, holding this office during that im- 
portant period in the legislative history of the State in 
which what is known as the " Maine Liquor Law" was 
enacted, the most important act of prohibitory legislation 
in this country. His wife, Sarah H. B. Hubbard, was a 
granddaughter of Oliver Barrett, one of the " Minute 
Men" at Lexington, who was afterwards killed in the 
Revolutionary War. 

Colonel Hubbard received his early education in his na- 
tive town, wliere he was prepared for a collegiate course, 
and entered Bowdoin College in 1853. He graduated 
there with the honors of his class in 1857, after which 
he began the stud}' of the law in his native place of Hal- 
lowell, and was admitted to practice in Maine in i860. 
During the succeeding winter and spring he entered 
upon a new course of legal study in the Law School of 
Albany, New York, and in ]\La\', 1S61, was admitted to 
practice in the New York State courts. 

The outbreak of the civil war, liowever, gave a new 
direction to his thoughts. Moved by a patriotic desire 
to take part in the struggle for the preservation of the 
Union he returned to Maine, and there joined the Twenty- 
fifth Maine Volunteer Regiment, with the commission of 
first lieutenant and adjutant. He went witii this regi- 
ment to the front, and served with it till it was mustered 
out in July, 1863, acting part of that time as assistant 
adjutant-general of the brigade of wliich his regiment 
formed a part. On his return home he went acti\ely to 
work in the recruiting of a new regiment, the Thirtieth 
Maine. In this he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, 



and was mustered into the United States service, with 
that rank, December 19, 1863. 

This regiment was ordered to the Department of the 
Gulf, and took part in the Red River campaign. After 
the battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hubbard took command of the regiment, and led it in 
the assault of Monett's Bluff, Louisiana, the colonel, 
Francis Fessenden, commanding the brigade in the same 
assault. Subsequently he was engaged in the construc- 
tion of the Red River dam, at Alexandria, Louisiana, 
under the engineering direction of Colonel Bailey, of 
Wisconsin. This dam increased the depth of water 
sufficiently to float the gunboats, which had become 
stranded. He afterwards assisted in the work of placing 
a bridge of steamboats across the A^tchafalaya, to enable 
the ami)- to cross. 

On May 13, 1864, he received the commission of col- 
onel of the Thirtieth Maine, and in the autumn of this 
year was transferred with his regiment to Virginia, where 
he took part in the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 
1864-65, part of the time in command of his brigade. 
He acted as president of a court-martial in the winter of 
1864, and took part in the great review of the army in 
Washington in April, 1865. Afterwards his regiment 
was ordered to Savannah, Georgia, where he conducted 
a board for the examination of officers. He received the 
brevet rank of brigadier-general on July 13, 1865, and 
was soon after mustered out of service. 

General Hubbard immediately afterwards began the 
practice of the law in New York City, being associated 
till the end of 1866 with the late Judge Rapallo, of the 
I Court of Appeals. In January, 1867, he entered the 
' law firm of Barney, Butler & Parsons. This firm was 
reorganized in January, 1876, as Butler, Stillman & Hub- 
bard, and is still in active existence. General Hubbard 
has attained a high degree of success in his practice, and 
is regarded as one of the ablest lawyers of the New York 
bar. He is a member of the Loyal Legion and promi- 
nent in many of the principal clubs and other societies 
of the metropolis. 



304 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ASHBEL P. FITCH. 

The Fitch family in America began with tiic emigra- 
tion of Rev. James Fitch, of Biaintrcc, luiglanii, in 1638, 
lie hohling pastoral charges in Connecticut for half a 
centurj-, while he was active in literary protluction. Of 
his descendants, Jabez Fitch served with distinction in 
the Revolutionarj- War. Edward Fitch, grandson oi 
the latter, was a successful lawj'cr of New York City 
and served with credit in the Legislature, while he was 
notable for powers of oratory and literary culture. His 
son, Ashbel Parmelee Fitch, was born at Mooers, Clinton 
County, New York, October 8, 1848, and received his 
education in the public schools of New York City and 
at VVilliston Seminary, where he was prepared for college. 
Mis college life was passeii in the Unixersities of Jena 
and Berlin, Germany, where, in addition to a thorough 
classical education, he gaineil an accurate actiuaintance 
with the German language, which has been nf much use 
to him in his business and political career. After his 
return home he entered upon the study of law at the 
Law School of Columbia College, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1S69, at twenty-one years of age. 

Mr. I'^itch continueii actively engaged in legal practice 
for the ensuing fifteen years, ami with much success, 
to which the reputation of his father and his German- 
speaking ])owers contributed. lie became counsel for 
many corporations early in his career, and came to be 
the legal advi.scr of .some of the leading mercantile con- 
cerns of the city. He was also prominent ])olitically, 
and in 1884 received the Republican nomination for 
Congress to represent the Thirteenth District of New 
York. This nomination he declined, on the ground that 
he was not in full symp.ithy with the Republican doc- 



trine of high protection. In 1886, General !■". L. \'ielc, 
a Democrat who believed in high protection, w-as re- 
nominated, and Mr. Fitch now accepted a nomination 
against him, which was tendered him regardless of his 
well-known \icws on the tariff. He was elected, and 
became a member of the Fiftieth Congress. 

The new member was assigned to the Committees on 
Military Affairs and on Reform of the Civil Service, ap- 
pointments ver)' complimentary to an untried legislator. 
He helped make up the vYrmy Appropriation Bill, and 
was acti\'e in the establishment of the government gun 
factory at VVatervliet, New York, and in the development 
of the West Point IMilitarj' Academy. His freely ex- 
pressed views on protection were sustained in his action 
on the Mills Tariff Bill, for which he voted, while Mr. 
Randall and some t)ther Democratic members \oted 
against it. A speech made by him on this bill was 
printed b)- tin- Reform Club of New York, and in the 
following two Presidential campaigns was re[)rinted by 
the Democratic National Committee, and largelj' circu- 
lated in German and English. 

His course in regard to this Ijill took him out of the 
ranks of his party, and in the subsequent electitjn he ran 
as a Democratic candidate, and was re-electeil. In the 
P'ifty-first Congress he ser\ed on the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs and was chairman of some minor com- 
mittees. He took an active part in the contest for an 
international copyright law, and was prominent in the 
struggle against the enactment of the Force Bill and the 
Ship Subsid)' Bill, anil also in that against the McKinlc)- 
Tariff l^ill. IK- was particularly active, howexer, in 
regard to the silver question, and has been constantl)' 
heard in all subsequent debates on the side of .sound 
currenc)- and in favor of the gold standard. In the 
election of 1890 he was again a candidate of the Dem- 
ocratic part)' and was once more electetl to Congress. 

In this Congress he took an active part in ojiiiosition 
to free coinage, and w as [irominent in the debates which 
endeil in the defeat of this measure. He also introduced 
a resolution concerning the Federal election laws, and 
was appointed chairman of a committee to in\cstigate 
the operation of these laws. He was again elected to 
Congress in 1892, and in this Congress served on several 
important committees and was prominent in the struggle 
for the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. His 
Congressional career closed in 1S93, in which )-ear he 
was elected comptroller of the cit)' of New Yoik, a 
pcsition still held by him. Aside from his public and 
professional service Mr. Fitch has been an earnest stu- 
dent of literature, and has a large and valuable library, 
rich in German literature, and containing the most com- 
plete collection in this coimtr)- of books relating to the 
life antl works of Goethe. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



305 



WILLIS S. PAINE. 

Willis S. Paine, a financier of New York, was born 
at Rochester, New Yorlc, January i, 1848, being de- 
scended from an old faniil)- of New England, one of 
whose members, Robert Treat Paine, was a signer of the 
Declaration of Independence. His father, Nicholas E. 
Paine, was a leading lawyer of Rochester, where he 
filled the positions of ma^'or, district attorney for the 
count}-, and president of the board of education. At 
the time of his deatii, in 1S87, he was president of the 
Dakota Railroad Compan}-. Mr. Paine's mother, Abby 
M. Sprague, was a descendant of Governors Bradford 
and Prince, of Massachusetts Hay Colony. 

Mr. Paine was educated at the Rochester Collegiate 
Institute, where he graduated in 1862 as valedictorian of 
his class, and at Rochester University, where he graduated 
with honors in 1868. WHiilc in the latter institution he 
was also engaged in the stud\' of law in the office of 
Sanford G. Church, afterwards chief-justice of the Court 
of Appeals, He was admitted to practice in 1861, and 
continued to practice until 1874, when he received an 
appointment as one of the Trust Company p].xaminers 
of the .State of New York. His work in this position 
was an investigation of the trust companies of the State, 
the result of his action being the closing of three such 
companies in New York City whose debt to depositors 
was S6,000,000. His action secured the repayment of 
this sum in full to depositors, and brought him high 
commendation from the press. 

This work changed permanentl}- his field of labor. 
In 1876 he was appointed receiver of the Bond -Street 
Savings ]5ank, whose faihu'e was the largest of its kind 
in this countr}-. Mr. Paine handled the responsible duty 
thus intrusted to him with remarkable skill, and eventu- 
ally succeeded in paying the preferred creditors the full 
amounts of their claims, and eighty-si.K and five-eighths 
per cent, to the general creditors, — a result rarely 
equaled. The court, in reviewing his management of 
this institution, declared " that the duties of this trust 
ha\e been administered by the recei\-er with rare dili- 
gence, fidelity, and iliscretion." 

In 1880, Mr. Paine and William Dowd, president of 
the Bank of North America, were appointed by Governor 
Cornell commissionei"s to compile and revise the laws of 
New York respecting banking. They served in this duty 
without pay, and spent less than half the sum appro- 
priated for expenses. The revision which the)' prepared 
and submitted was adopted by the Legislature in 1882. 
In the following year Mr. Paine was appointed by Gov- 
ernor Cleveland superintendent of the Banking Depart- 
ment of the State of New York, the nomination being 
unanimously confirmed b\- the Senate. This position 




was one of gicat responsibilit)' and varied duties, em- 
bracing the siij)er\ision of the many banks, savings 
institutions, trust, mortgage, and safe deposit companies, 
building associations, and other financial corporations 
throughout the State. In the discharge of its duties 
Mr. Paine displayed an executive ability of high order. 
He had a clear understanding of the requisites of a 
sound banking system, and his skill and energy in en- 
forcing proper rules antl regulations, and lucid exposi- 
tion of the correct principles of banking, have gi\en his 
opinions an authoritati\-e influence throughout the United 
States. 

He resigned the position of bank superintendent in 
1889 to accept his present post, that of president of the 
State Trust Compan)-. This corporation has enjo)'ed 
great prosperity under his management. In 1885 he 
was offered by President Cleveland, but declined, the 
position of sub-treasurer in New York City. In 18S6 
he was given the honorar)- degree of LL.D. by Man- 
hattan College. He has long been a member of the 
Bar Association of the city of New York, and belongs 
to the Tu.xedo, Commonwealth, Manhattan, Lawyers', 
Theta Delta Chi, and Phi Betta Kappa Clubs, of New 
York. The " block s)'stem" in real-estate transfers, 
adopted b)- the New York Legislature, owes much to 
his efforts, as also the law regulating trust com- 
panies. 

Mr. Paine is an able writer on his favorite topics, and 
his large work on " Banks, Banking, and Trust Com- 
panies" is a standard authority on financial institutions. 
It is lucid in style, methodical in arrangement, and ex- 
haustive of its subject, and has won him much commen- 
dation. 



3o6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GEORGE W. ENGLISH. 

George W. English was bom May 17, 1853, '" Mar- 
tinsbiirg, Blair County, Pcnnsjivania, liis fatlier, Geoifje 
VV. Knglish, ami his motlier, Lydia Hildcbrand English, 
both being natives of PcnnsyK-anin. The untiinclj' 
deaths of both his parents occurred witiiin the same 
week, in November, 1877, of that dread destroyer of 
the aged, pneumonia. Tlie\- were highly esteemed and 
greatly mourned, liaving been illustrious in their edu- 
cational and religious work in the comiiiunities in which 
they lived. 

Mr. English's father was ordained a Baptist clergyman, 
but preferred the more active duties of a commercial life. 
He was a noted abolitionist, aiul threw himself into the 
anti-slavery movement with all the energy of intelligent 
conviction. Being an excellent speaker, a rcaily debater, 
antl with a profound knowledge of American iiistory, 
he found few worthy antagonists in his neighborhood. 
I le was a man of unimpeachable integrity and of most 
generous impulses, and the three sons wiio survive him 
ha\e worthily followed the teachings of a noble father, 
and are each noted men in the cities in which they reside. 
The oklest son, William T. luiglisii, is a physician in 
Pittsburg, and professor of Physical Diagnosis in the 
W'estern Penn.s)l\ania Medical College, the second son 
is the subject of this sketch, and the third son, II. D. W. 
English, is one of the leading business men in Pittsburg. 

Mr. English was educated at the Milro)' Academy, 
Milroy, Pennsylvania, and afterwards became a practical 
new.spaper jirinter in 1870, learning the trade in news- 
l)aper offices in Tyrone City and Pittsburg. He natu- 
rally drifted into journalism in the latter city imtil 1876, 
and still retains his interest in journalism, being reckoned 
as one of the older members of the New York Press 



Club. He contributes to insurance journals, and is a 
writer of life-insurance literature which is highly con- 
sidered by those engaged in the insurance business. 

In 1877 Mr. English abandoned journalism, accept- 
ing the position of general agent of the Berkshire Life 
Insurance Company, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, for 
Western Penn.sylvania, with his agency head-quarters at 
Pittsburg. He was very successful in the agenc\- work in 
that State, and in April, 1883, the officers of the companj- 
requested him to come to New York City, creating for 
him a department of the company w hich embodied the 
entire States of New York and New Jersey, and of wiiich 
Mr. English has been and is now general manager. His 
energy and abilit\- found ample scope in his new field of 
labor, and he has had great success in establishing and 
maintaining one of the greatest agencies in this city of 
great enterprises. His offices are in the Postal Telegraph 
Building, 253 Broadway. He is known among insurance 
men as one of the half-dozen successful managers in this 
city of a business in which great talent and cnerg\- are the 
essentials to permanent success. Hundreds of families 
in the metropolitan district are the direct beneficiaries of 
his industry in placing insurances on the lives of the 
bankers, merchants, and professional men with whom he 
has been associated. 

Mr. English is well known in ]-"rccmasonr\-, being a 
thirty-second degree Mason and a Knight Tem])lar. 
His labors in Masonr\- have been man\- and are highl\- 
appreciated by members of the craft, who ha\-e shown 
their appreciation b\- testimonials and valuable gifts. 
He is a member of many clubs, social and political, and 
a liberal patron of art. His residence, No. 30 West 
l'jght\--third Street, has many examples of modern 
paintings b_\- American anil foreign artists. In politics 
he is an aggressive Republican, following in the footsteps 
of his father. He has taken an active part in national 
politics, and numbers among his acquaintances many 
of those who have been and are prominent in national 
affairs. He is a member of the celebrateil Republican 
Club, and has done effective work as a member of its 
campaign committee for many years. In June, 1894, 
he attended the Convention of the National League of 
Republican Clubs helil at Denver, Colorado, as a repre- 
sentative of the Amciican l'rotecti\e League of the 
United States. 

Mr. Pjiglish married Miss Emily Crawford, of Pitts- 
burg, in October, 1879. A sister of Mrs. luiglisii is the 
wife of J. G. A. Leishman, president of the Carnegie Steel 
Compaii)' of Pittsburg. The)- are daughters of lulward 
Crawford, and granddaughters of John Crawford, de- 
ceased, who was, ,it I Ik- time of his death, the largest 
manufacturer of malleable iron in the United States. 
Mr. and Mrs. English are hapjjy in the possession of 
three chiklreii, — one daughter and two sons. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



307 



LLOYD BRYCE. 

Li.ovD Bkyce, author and publisher, was Ijorn at 
Flushing, I^ong Island, September 20, 185 i, the son of 
Major J. Smith Rryce, of Georgetown, District of Co- 
hmibia, in which cit\- the youthful days of Mr. Bryce 
were passed, many of them during the stirring scenes of 
the civil war, when Washington was the central point in 
the struggle for the Union. His first school experience 
was attained in the Jesuit College at Georgetown, but 
after the war he became one of the most promising 
pupils of the late Professor Anthon, in New York. In 
1867 he made a journe\' to Europe under the care of a 
tutor, and while there \-isitcd the principal art galleries 
and copied se\eral famous pictures, — he having previ- 
ously had instruction in art. 

He entered Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1869, 
and graduated there with a B.A., and later with an M.A., 
degree. On his return to New York he engaged in the 
study of law at the Law School of Columbia College, 
and in due time graduated, though he did not afterwards 
follow the profession of the law. 

When the celelirated Charnay expedition to Central 
America was organized he was invited to accompany it 
as reporter, but he did not see his way clear to accept. 
He had, nevertheless, always taken a strong interest in 
the e.\ploration of this region, being a nephew, on his 
mother's side, of John L. Stc\ens, the first and most 
renowned explorer of the ruined cities of Yucatan. 

Mr. Bryce early entered upon political life, as a mem- 
ber of the Democratic party, and took so active a part 
that on the election of Governor Hill he was appointed 
paymaster-general of New York, a position which he 
filled with great credit. In 1886 he was nominated for 
Congress from the Seventh Congressional District of 
New York Cit\-, and was elected a member of the Fif- 
tieth Congress. During his term of service he worked 
earnestly for the interests of the metropolis, and par- 
ticularly sought to place the harbor of the city under 
the jurisdiction of the government, for the purpose of 
checking the deposition of refuse in the waters of the 
harbor and the needless anchorage of craft in the direct 
path of navigation. His untiring work in this direction 
won him warm praise from his fellow-Congressmen. 

While thus engaged in various public duties, General 
Br\-ce occupied his leisure in authorshij), both in essa}'- 
and novel-writing. He wrote papers on a number of 
interesting subjects for the leading magazines, and pub- 
lished several novels, including "Paradise," "The Ro- 
mance of an Alter P-go," and " A Dream of Conquest." 
The latter was an imaginary conception of an in\'asion 
of America by the Chinese. It was publislicd in Lippiii- 




cotfs Maga:;iin\ and attracted much attention by the 
cleverness of its plot and the admirable powers of de- 
scription it tlisijlaycd. " An Alter Ego" is a .story based 
on hypnotism. It indicates a careful stutly of the subject, 
and was very well received. 

In Ma}', 18S9, Mr. Br\'ce made a journe\- to Europe, 
but immediate]}' after reaching there was startled by 
news of the sudden death of his life-long friend, Allen 
Thorndike Rice, the editor ami proprietor of the North 
American Rcv'mc, and the recently appointed minister 
to Russia. Mr. Rice had intended to accompany his 
friend, but had been prevented by a seemingly slight 
indisposition, w hich had had this fatal result. 

It proved, on reading the will of Mr. Rice, that he 
had bequeathed the controlling interest in the Rcvicic to 
General Br\'ce, who, in consequence, immediatel}' re- 
turned to New York, purchased the remaining interest 
from the heirs, and assumed the control of that old and 
recentl}' popular magazine. The North Aunricaii Re- 
view, after years of feeble support, had been brought into 
high popular favor by Mr. Rice, who devoted it to the 
consideration of the timel}' topics of the day. Its new 
editor has pursued the same course, and in his liands 
the Revieiv has grown in favor and usefulness, until it is 
now tiie acknowledged medium through which current 
histor}', science, philanthrops', and all topics of public 
interest are brought to the notice of an appreciative 
public. Mr. Br\ce is gifted with excellent business 
judgment antl literary taste, and makes a capital editor. 
Personally he is of agreeable manners, kindly dis- 
position, considerate feeling, and has won hosts of 
friends. 



3o8 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM WOOD. 

William Wood, philanllimpist ;ur1 founder uf the 
Mercantile Library of New Yorl<, was born at Charles- 
town, Massachusetts, in 1777. Me received his education 
there, and spent a few years in business life in Boston, 
after which he removed to Canandaigua, New York. To 
this place, then a growing \ illage, he transferred much 
of the pritle and active interest which he had previously 
manifested in Boston affairs. To his eyes Canandaigua 
came to appear more beautiful than Boston itself had 
previously seemed, and he took the warmest interest in 
the growth of the handsomely situated lake-side village, 
one of his jjarticular delights being in the adornment of 
the streets of his adopted \illage with the choicest shade- 
trees, particularly elms and maples, the planting ami sub- 
sequent care of which he himself superintended with the 
greatest solicitude. He had a re|)utation fur eccentricit)' 
as regarded his interest in trees, disliking some intensely, 
while others lie regarded with the greatest affection. 

His devotion to tree-planting was but one of his 
special interests. The subject of imjjroved sidewalks 
also strongly engaged his attention, anil he took such an 
active part in improving those of Canandaigua that he 
gained the sobriquet of "Sidewalk Wood," not in ridi- 
cule, but in honor. By this tleclared public si)irit Mr. 
Wood proved himself a benefactor of every |)lace in 
which he resided. 

After leaving Canandaigua, Mr. WDod entered into busi- 
ness as an importing merchant in Boston for a period, 
and subsecjuently removed to New Orleans, where he 
became a cotton dealer and built up a large and lucrative 
business. Unfortunately for him there came in itSo7 the 
" Embargo Act" of President Jefferson's administration 
and afterwards the Milan decree of Napoleon. The busi- 
ness depression which followed the acts of international i 



reprisal ruined Mr. Wood's business. He subsequently 
received some compensation from Congress, but by no 
means sufficient to recompense him for his losses and the 
destruction of his business. Subsequently he removed 
to New York, entered successfully into business there, 
anil made that city his place of residence during the 
rcniaiiuler of his life. 

Mr. Wood's career of philanthropy began when he 
was engaged in mercantile business in New Orleans, and 
continueil throughout his subsequent life. The act of 
benevolent public interest and thoughtfulness for the 
good of the communitv, that of the founding of the 
New York Mercantile Library, took place in 1820. On 
November 3 of that year he had posted on the bulletin 
board of the Coinmvrcial Advertiser the following " No- 
tice to Merchants' Clerks and Apprentices." 

" Those young gentlemen who are disposeil to form a 
Mercantile Library and an Evening Reading-Room arc 
desired to attend a meeting for that purpose to be held 
at the Tontine Coffee House on Thursday Evening ne.xt, 
at seven o'clock, when a plan of a Library and Associa- 
tion will be presented for their consideration. The 
yoinig men of South Street, Front, Water, Pearl, Maiden 
Lane, and Broailway are particularly desired to attend." 

The meeting was held in accordance with the fore- 
going notice on the evening of Thursday, No\ember 9, 
1S20, and was attcndeil by many of the young men to 
whom the jiroposal of a library in their interests proved 
alluring. Mr. Wood was present to explain the plan 
he had formulated in his own mind, a plan which, it need 
scarcely be said, was accepted, and there and then was 
started the institution whirh has hail so lont; and prosper- 
ous a career anil lias pioxed of such untolil benefit to 
the youthful business community of New York. 

B\- the Constitution of this Library Association, ado|)teil 
in accordance with the suggestions of Mr. Wooil, the 
control of the institution was placed in the hands of 
merchants' clerks, ami they alone were perniitteil to hold 
office. This i^rovision has been continued up to the 
present time. The library was openeil on February 12, 
1821, at 49 Fulton Street, the original quarters consist- 
ing of a single room and about seven hundred donated 
volumes. After many difficulties in its development it 
finally seemed excellentlj- ailapted qu.irters in the old 
Astor Place Opeia House, at a cost of Si 40,000. This 
building continued the seat of the lijjnirv for thirty-si.x 
years, when, in 1S90, it was demolished, and in iS(ji, one 
year later, the institution entered the new building erected 
on the site of the old, and one of the handsomest edifices 
in the metropolis. On its shelves to-day rest twi) hundred 
and fift)' thousand volumes, besides all the ciuTent litera- 
ture of the day. Mr. Wood died in 1857, and was buried 
in the old cemetei-j' south of West Avenue, which he had 
faithfully labored to beautif)-. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



309 



NORVIN GREEN, M.D. 

NoRViN Gkeen" was born in New .Xlban}-, Indiana, 
April 17, 1818, being descended from a family of the 
earliest settlers of Kentucky. His father, a native of 
that State, served as a vokmteer in the War of 1812, 
and took part in the battle of New Orleans. On his 
return he removed to Indiana, where his son was born. 
He afterwards returned to Kentucky, where Norvin 
grew to manhood, and obtained such education as a 
frontier State could at that time afford. The boy, how- 
ever, early gained a full share of the \ahiable education 
of experience. He grew up on his father's farm, toughen- 
ing himself by work, and developing a love for horses 
which was the passion of his youthful life. None could 
surpass him as a horseman ; he took the keenest delight 
in races, and might have developed into a horse jockey 
had not fortune designed his life for better ends. He 
became, in fact, when but thirteen years of age, the assist- 
ant of his father, then sheriff of Breckenridge County, 
riding over the county to collect taxes, and keeping his 
fatlier's accounts with a striking accuracy for one so 
young. The currency at that time was in a transition 
state between dollars and cents and pounds, shillings, 
and pence, and account-keeping was a complicated 
affair. 

At that time Western commerce was largely conducted 
by means of boats on the Ohio and Mississippi. Joseph 
Green determined to risk all his money and credit in this 
business, and in 1833 bought and stocked several flat- 
boats, and placed his son, then just fifteen, in charge of 
one of these, which contained the great variety of goods 
of a countr}- store of that period. The father com- 
manded the other boats, w hich w^ere loaded with horses. 
He made his way directly for New^ Orleans, leaving his 
son to follow and dispose of his stock as he could along 
the route. The results of the double \enture w^ere dif- 
ferent. The father lost most of his cargo through a 
storm. The son disposed of his profitably, and had an 
excellent report to make. 

An event now occurred that brought out Norvin 
Green's character remarkably. His father became dan- 
gerously ill through his exposure, and his property w-as 
seized b\' a faithless friend. The boy, \'et but si.xteen, 
at once took charge of everything, bought a larger boat, 
stocked it with a large supplj', — obtained partly for cash, 
parti}' on credit, — and set out on another venture. In 
this he had the same good fortune as before. He now 
leased a farm at the mouth of the Kentucky River, built 
a store and warehouse, and opened a general mercantile 
business, while he bought farm produce and sent it down 
the ri\-er to be sold. By the time he was nineteen he 
had paid all his own debts and those of his father and 
had sufficient money left to buy a farm. 

His next venture was as a woodsman, he contracting 




to deliver twelve hundred cords of wood at Madison, 
Indiana. This he did profitabh', frequently using the 
axe himself with his hired wood-cutters. Having jilaced 
his father in comfortable circumstances and made some 
money for his own use, he now looked about him for a 
life business, and at the age of twenty decided on and 
began the study of medicine, entering the Medical De- 
partment of the University of Louisville, from which he 
graduated in 1840. 

For several years Dr. Green practiced successfull)- in 
Kentucky. He gradually, howe\er, became drawn into 
politics, antl was nominated and elected to the Legislature 
of Kentucky, in which he served several terms. After- 
wards he was appointed commissioner in charge of the 
construction of United States public buildings at Louis- 
\ille. While here he became interested in what was to 
be the future business of his life, the de\'elopment of the 
telegraph. He entered into this with tiie energy and 
ability which he had manifested in his younger life, and 
rapidly progressed until he became president of the 
Southwestern Telegraph Company, a position which he 
retained for twelve years. In 1866 he became vice- 
president of the Western Union Telegraph Company, 
and in 1878, on the death of Mr. Orton, he was made 
president of this great corporation. 

Dr. Green has resided in New York since his con- 
nection with the Western Union. He has been a most 
active and energetic developer of the telegraph business, 
and for years has been the prime mover in all important 
changes and improvements in the yVmerican telegraphic 
system. The business ability which he manifested so 
strongly in his boyhood days clings to him still, no 
emergency is too great for him to handle, and no man 
could more satisfactorily manage the great interests 
under his control. 



40 



;io 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




MARVHLLH W. COOl'F.R. 

Makveli.e Wilson Coopeu, prominent amon<j the 
retired merchants of New York, is a native of the Green 
Mountain State of Vermont, in Windsor County of 
which State he was born May 24, 1826. Mr. Cooper 
comes of excellent New luigland stock, being a lineal 
descendant of John Cooper, a young Englishman, who 
emigrated to this country in 1636, and took up his resi- 
dence in New Hampshire, then an unsettled wilderness. 
After some years of pioneer life he married Anna Spar- 
hawk, of Puritan descent, and settled at Cambridge. 
Here he became quite prominent, being succes.sively 
selectman, town clerk, and deacon. Phineas S. Cooper, 
in the fourth generation of his descendants, was the 
father of the subject of our sketch. 

Mr. Cooper's educational opportunities were very 
limited in his early days, being confined to the meagre 
knowledge obtainable in the jjublic schools of that date. 
But he was ambitious and energetic, with a laudable 
desire for a collegiate education, and resorted to the ex- 
pedient so freiiuently adopted in New pjigland, school- 
teaching, that he might obtain the funds necessary to 
pass through college. He was successful in this, and 
after his graduation came to New York, with the pur- 
pose of engaging in mercantile life. 

He reached the metropolis in 1849, and ol)tained there 
a situation as clerk, beginning low down on the ladder of 
fortune, and working himself up rounil by rt>und through 
perseverance, industry, ami a native ability for business. 
Eight years' steady labor in subordinate situations en- 
abled him to become a partner in a prominent commis- 
sion house, that of Smythe, Sprague & Cooper, a firm 
whose business grew until its annual sales reached the 



high figure oi Si 2,000,000. To the success of this firm 
Mr. Cooper's business acumen and activity lent their 
fair share. In 1864, through a change in the make-up 
of the firm, its title became Sprague, Cooper & Colburn, 
and three years afterwards, in 1S67, Mr. Coojier rose to 
the position of head of the firm, whose title now became 
Cooper, \'ail & Co. In ten years after engaging in busi- 
ness for himself he had become the leading partner of 
one of the first commission houses in New York. 

The partnership of Cooper, Vail & Co. expired bj- 
limitation in 1872, and Mr. Cooper afterwards continuctl 
the business through Whittemore, Peet, Post & Co., and 
subsequentl)' conducted it for a period in his own name. 
He had made an amjilc fortune, however, antl in 1882 
retired from immediate connection with commercial 
affairs, to pass the remainder of his life in ease and 
enjoyment. His business relations, however, were not 
fully given up. He retained, and still retains, large busi- 
ness interests in the Western States, which gi\e him a 
sufficient share of active employment. 

After the murder of President Garfield, as it became 
probable that a change would be made in the post of 
collector of the port of New York, Mr. Cooper's name 
was presented for the position, and a ])etition sent to 
President Arthur, signed by one hundred and fifty mer- 
chants and bankers, stating that Mr. Cooper, "by the 
integrity and honesty that have characterized all his 
dealings, has won for himself the confidence and respect 
of all classes in this comnuniity," also that " Mr. Cooper's 
thorough knowledge of mercantile affairs, and his ex- 
tensive acquaintance with the active business men of 
New York, render him eminently fitted to discharge the 
duties of the office." No change was made in the office, 
however, though President Arthur declared the petition 
to be the strongest he had ever seen. 

Mr. Cooper, since his retirement fiom business, has 
continued to make New York his ])lace of residence, but 
has spent much of his time in travel Heing unmarried, 
he has no domestic lies, and has traveled widely o\er the 
American and I'2uro[)ean continents, obser\ing all that he 
can find worth seeing. In 1885 he was appointeti United 
States railroad commissioner, to inspect the Southern 
Pacific Railroad. For a time he was president of the 
New England Societ\-, but declined the re-election that 
was unanimously tendered him on the ground of his 
frequent absences from New \'ork. Politically he is a 
Republican, and ardentl)- favors protection to American 
industiies, but has persistenth' declined political nomina- 
tions, which have often been tendered him. 1 le is ,1 
man of warm benevolence, and has maile man)' public 
contributions to charity, and many more pri\ate ones, 
whose sum no man knows. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



Ill 



JOHN T. HOFFMAN. 

JoHX Thoiipson Hoffman, Governor of New York from 
1869 to 1873, was born at Sing Sing, in that State, Janu- 
ary 10, 1828. He was the grandson of Phih'p Livingston 
Hoffman, a member of the bar, and the son of Adrian K. 
Hoffman, a physician of Westchester County. He was 
well educated, at first under the charge of Rev. Dr. Prime, 
afterwards editor of the New York Observer, and at fifteen 
entered Union College, Schenectady, New York, where he 
graduated with all the honors of the institution in 1846. 
He had early shown excellent oratorical powers and 
gained a reputation as a public speaker, and his graduation 
address, on "Sectional Prejudices," is said to have been 
very noteworthy. From his bo\'hood days he was a Dem- 
ocrat in political sentiment, and during his whole life re- 
mained an earnest advocate of the doctrines of that party. 

After leaving college Mr. Hoffman began the study of 
law under General Aaron Ward and Judge Albert Lock- 
wood, of Sing Sing, and on January 10, 1849, ^^'^ 
twenty-first birthday, was admittctl to the bar. Later in 
that year he removed to New York City, where he asso- 
ciated himself with the late H. M. W^oodruff and Judge 
W. M. Leonard, under the firm title of Woodruff, Leon- 
ard S: Hoffman. He continued his legal practice dili- 
gently during the succeeding ten years, with a very 
encouraging success, ami in 1859 President Buchanan 
was urged by prominent citizens to confer on him the 
office of United States district attorney, but declined to 
do so on the sole objection of his youth. 

Long before this he had become prominent in politics. 
In 1848, while still a boy, he was made a member of the 
State central committee by the convention of the " Hard- 
shell Democrac}'." Although not \'et a voter, Mr. 
Hoffman took the stump, and did excellent service as a 
political orator for Lewis Cass. His legal prominence 
and his abilit)- as a promulgator of Democratic principles 
kept him before the people, and in i860 he was nomi- 
nated and elected recorder of the city of New York, 
being the j'oungest man w ho had e\er filled that office. 
He proved thoroughly adapted to its duties, and during 
his first term achieved a high measure of reputation, it 
becoming his duty to tr\' and sentence many of those 
who were engaged in the riots of July, 1863. He rose 
so high in public estimation that in the ensuing election, 
October, 1863, he had the nomination of both parties 
,iinl the general support of the press, antl was returned 
by si.xty thousand out of si.xt}--four thousand votes, a 
result unparelleled in the history of the city to that time. 

In 1865 the Tamman\- Hall Democratic convention 
nominated Mr. Hofl'man for mayor. There were three 
other candidates in the field, Marshall O. Roberts, John 
Hecker, and C. G. Gunther, chosen respectively by the 
Republican, the Citizens' Association, and an indepen- 
dent wing of the Democratic party ; but Mr. Hoffman 




was elected by a majorit)- of twelve hundred over Mr. 
Roberts. While serving during this term as mayor he 
was nominated by his party for governor, but was de- 
feated by Reuben E. Fcnton. In 1867 Tammany again 
nominated him for the mayoralt}-, and the high esteem 
he had won was shown by his majority of twenty-one 
thousand votes over his two competitors. 

During his service as mayor in tiiis term the party 
again nominated him as governor, and in the ensuing 
election he was chosen as governor of the State of New 
York by a handsome majorit}-. He resigned his seat as 
mayor in 1 868 to assume that of governor. In 1870 he 
was again returned as governor, thus having had the 
compliment to his efficienc}- of a re-election to every 
political office held by him. 

During Governor Hoffinan's second term the great 
popular tlemonstration against the outrages of the Tweed 
Ring took place. Unfortunately for his political future 
his name was associated with this faction, though on 
no other grounds than that he owed his election to the 
Tammany wing of tiie Democracy, there being no evi- 
dence that he had ever in any way assisted in the Tweed 
raids on the treasury or the other outrages of the faction. 
From this time forward, however, he withdrew from 
participation in political affairs, devoted himself to his ex- 
tensive law practice, and abstained from public utterances. 

Personally Go\-ernor Hoffman was highly courteous, 
pleasing, and unaffected in manner, having all the qualities 
of a thoroughl}- trained gentleman. He had traveled much 
abroad, but his favorite place of sojourn was his home on 
the Hudson, and his chief happiness was found in domes- 
tic life. His powers as a public speaker were fine, his evi- 
dent sincerity and the clearness of hft language and logic 
enabling him to make a deep impression on his audiences. 
He died at Wiesbaden, Germany, March 24, 1888. 



312 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




J. SEAVHR PAGE. 

Mr. Pace was born in New York City, and from his 
early manhood lias been identified with the best interests 
of the metropolis, alike in its commercial and social 
phases, in both of which he has taken a prominent and 
active part, while his connection with sportintj interests 
and with municijial affairs lias broujrht him yreatly into 
public notice. He was educated at the College of the 
City of New York, after ]>assiny the ordinary preliminary 
course of instruction, ami t;raduatcd with a creditable 
record. Durintj his colletje course he e\inced a taste 
for public speaking, to the cultivation of which he gave 
much time and attention, and with such success as to 
become notable for this gift of oratory in his college 
and his subsequent career. Entering early in his mature 
life into politics, as an earnest advocate of the |)rincipies 
of the Re|)ublican i)arty, he quickly began to cmi)lo)- in 
this direction his gift of oratory, which developed to such 
a tiegree that in all the recent Presiilential campaigns he 
has been a much sought for s])eaker on tlie Republican 
side, ami has exercised a notable influence in affecting 
the vote in the districts in which his cam])aigning work 
was performed. For many years he .served as public 
school trustee in the district of New York City of which 
he was a resident, and continues to take an earnest in- 
terest in the development and progress of the public 
schools. lie cntereil into business life shortly after his 
graduation from college, aiul has advanced in jjusiness 
experience and position until now he is vice-president of 
the ]•". W. De\()e & C. T. Re\iiolds Conqiany, the largest 
paint and varnish house in the world, and one of the 
leading mercantile houses in New York. This firm has 



connections in almost every part of the country, and 
does an enormous business throughout the United States 
and elsewhere. 

Mr. Page is a thorough business man, of fine and com- 
manding appearance, and he combines all the best qual- 
ities that ma\- be found among those who have attained 
success in the great financial, social, and intellectual centre 
of the country. Mr. Page is a devotee of all out-door 
sports, in the development of which he has taken a warm 
and intelligent interest since his college days, and to whose 
progress much of his attention is still earnestly given. 
He was at one time a base-ball enthusiast, and has made 
creditable records in pigeon shooting, while he has taken 
part in other forms of American sport. His labors as a 
ready orator ha\ e b\- no means been confined to jjolitical 
affairs, but ha\e taken a ])hiIanthropic direction as well, 
greatly to the benefit of the benevolent organizations of 
New York, since by his noteworthj- talent as a public 
declaimer he has been instrumental in raising large sums 
of money for charit)'. 

He was at one time secretary of the Union League, 
having been elected as the opposition candidate. He 
was later elected on the regular ticket. Mr. Page is an 
active club man, particularly in clubs having connection 
with sjjorting affairs, he being a member of nearly all 
the prominent outing clubs of New York, including tlie 
Country Club, the I^rchmont Yacht, ami the Westminster 
Kennel Club. He is also, as stated abo\e, a member of 
the Union League, and is connected by membership with 
the St. Nicholas, Fulton, Reform, Republican, New York 
Athletic, and Liederkranz Clubs. He is, in addition, a 
member of the St. Nicholas Societ)' by right of descent 
on the maternal side. 

In the subject of the Greater New York he is greatly 
interested, being a warm believer in and earnest ad\o- 
cate of this proposition to unite with the metropolis 
the large city of Hrookl\-n, its immediate outgrowth 
and the several other cities and towns within the Slate 
limits which owe their origin and tlevelopment to New 
York, and which, properly considered, are and always 
have been parts of this great city. This movement, 
which Mr. Page has strongly advocated, is simply a 
matter of justice to the metropolis, in enabling it to 
take its true rank among the great cities of the world, 
which it loses under the present misleading state of 
affiirs. The indications at present are that the union 
will be consummated, a desirable result fur uhicli .Mr. 
Page and its other e.irnest advocates can claim nnich 
of the credit. Personall)- Mr. Page is one of the most 
[)opular men in the mercantile and social life of New 
York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



313 



SIGOURNEY W. FAY. 

Sk;ournev W. Fav, a Icadinrr mt reliant in the woolen 
business in New York City, is by birth a native of Boston, 
in whieh cit)- he was born fift\'-nine years ago. He bears 
his age so well, however, that he might pass for little 
more than forty, having in some waj- learned the valuable 
secret of looking young, — perhaps that of keeping young, 
for the two go naturally together. Mr. Fay spent his 
youthful years in his native city, and received that educa- 
tion which Boston is better adopted to give — if we may 
accept its reputation — than an}- other city in this country. 
Having decided on engaging in mercantile business, he 
obtained a position in the Boston house of Lawrence, 
Stone & Co., with whom he remained actively engaged 
imtil about twentj'-four j'cars of age, proving himself an 
energetic and conscientious emploj'e, and winning the 
confidence and respect of his cmpIo\'crs by devotion to 
their interests and an excellent business capacity. 

In i860, having the capital to engage in commercial 
life on his own account, and sufficient business experi- 
ence to warrant the venture, he came to New York in 
company with Mr. Stone, one of his recent employers. 
Here a partnership was organized, under the firm-name 
of Stone, Bliss, Fa\- & Allen, for the purpose of con- 
ducting a dry-goods business, and the partners went 
energetically to work, quickly building for themselves a 
satisfactorj' trade. 

The firm continued in existence under this title for 
about ten years, becoming well known and prominent in 
its line of trade. At the end of that period changes took 
place in the list of partners, and the firm was reorganized 
under the title of Perry, Wendell, Fay & Co., the busi- 
ness gradually changing from general dry goods to the 
woolen commission line, to which it has long been con- 
fined. 

In 1878, Mr. Perr\-, senior member of the firm, — a 
w ell-known character in Now York, whei'e he was gener- 
ally addressed as Commodore Pcrr}-, — was remo\cd by 
death, and his.name was dropped from the firm-title, which 
now became known by its present name of Wendell, Fay 
& Co. Since that time there has been no change in the 
title or pcrsoinicl of the firm, whose business has grown 
to be a very extensive one, though one that is always 
conducted in a safe and conservative manner. 

The success of this business is largely due to Mr. Fay, 
who is a man of much business enterprise and ability, 
and is known among his trade associates as a model 
merchant, his activity being combined with integrity, and 
with an intelligence and uprightness in all the fields of 
life that comniaiul the respect of all who know him. 




The great popularit}' which he possesses among the 
patrons of his business house is due to his pleasant face 
and agreeable manners, and his native sociability of dis- 
position, he being noted for his constant genialit}' and 
courtesy. Aside from business he has had little time 
for other pursuits, a merchant's time, in these days of 
energetic competition, being usually too completely taken 
up to permit indulgence to any great extent in outside 
affairs. Yet Mr. Fay has much literary taste and lo\-e of 
knowledge, while he possesses good powers of oratory. 
In consequence he has appeared to some extent as a 
lecturer on \arious topics, and has gained considerable 
reputation in this field of intellectual exercise. 

The firm with which he is connected has interests out- 
side New York. Its origin may be said to have been in 
Boston, with which it has since maintained close relations, 
having a representative branch in that city. It is also 
represented in Philadelphia. The goods dealt in com- 
prise the best grades of cloths, suitings, uniform goods, 
and in short all the best products of the woolen manu- 
facture, while the house is the New York representative 
of a number of the leading woolen-mills of the United 
States, among which may be named the celebrated 
Middlesex Mills, the Campbell and the Dumbarton Mills, 
the Swift River Manufacturing Company, and a number 
of other woolen manufacturing concerns. 

Aside from his firm connections, in which he may be 
said to be one of the most popular merchants in New 
York, Mr. Fay is connected with se\-eral financial concerns, 
he being a director in the Hanover National Bank and 
in the Exchange Fire Insurance Cofftpany. 



314 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ROIJERT B. ROOSEVELT. 

Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, distinguished as an 
author and statesman, was born in New York City, Au- 
gust 7, 1829. He received a collegiate education, and 
after graduation entered upon tlic study of law, being 
admitted to the New York bar on rcacliing his majority. 
His professional life was quickly supplemented by an 
activit)- in literature and in political affairs which brouglit 
him prominently into attention, and have turned his life 
interests aside from legal practice. His literary taste 
developed early, and was accompanied by powers of 
imagination and of reasoning and by a lucid style tiiat 
have made him popular as a magazine writer and as an 
author of more ambitious works. 

•Mr. Roosevelt has long been a devotee of sport, but 
his enthusiasm in tliis direction has been tem])ered with 
a measure of good sense that im|)elleil him to make a 
vigorous onslaught on the indiscriminate slaughter of 
game in which so many so-called sportsmen indulge. 
To overcome tliis he devoted much time and energy to 
the organization of clubs for the preservation of game 
and to the obtaining of legislative restriction on the van- 
dalism that threatened the complete extermination of 
the food tenants of woods and waters. In 1867 he suc- 
ceeded in founding the New York Fishery Commission, 
and was ajipointcd one of the State commissioners. His 
labors in this tlirection were active and incessant, and 
continued until 1S88, when his appointment as United 
States minister to the Netherlands interfered with his 
immediate supervision. He wrote at that time an elab- 
orate report, detailing the results of the twenty-one years 
of labor of the commission. 



Mr. Roosevelt served as president of the Fish Culture 
A.ssociation for a number of years, and also of the Asso- 
ciation for the Protection of Game, and of the Inter- 
national Association for the same purpose. His work in 
this direction was not confined to labors in organizations, 
but took the form of literature, in his published volumes 
" The Game Fisli of North America," " The Game Birds 
of the North," and " Superior Fishing." 

Politically he has been an active member of the Dem- 
ocratic party, working in its interest during the civil war, 
at which time lie took [lart in the formation of se\eral 
political associations. His greatest and most useful ac- 
tivity in municipal politics, however, was his share in the 
founding of the Committee of Seventy, whose work was 
directed against the outrages of the Tweed Ring. He 
was also the first vice-president of the Reform Club, and 
one of the editors of the Citizen, a paper dc\oted to the 
policy of this club. He sub.sequently took entire cliarge 
of this paper, and worked energetically through its col- 
umns for the overthrow of the Tweed ascendency. 

In 1870 Mr. Roosevelt was elected a member of the 
Forty-second Congress, being sui^ported by both wings 
of the New York Democracy. He proved independent 
in his Congressional course, and resistant to the demands 
of party leaders. Aside from his political relations he 
was actively interested in New York affairs, taking an 
earnest part in the formation of paid fire and health de- 
partments in the city, and acting as a commissioner on 
the Brooklyn Bridge. He was the first vice-president 
and afterwards the president of the Holland Trust 
Compan\-, .ind took part in the fountling of the Lotos 
Club. 

Mr. RooscN'clt's practice as a lawyer continued for 
about twenty j'cars after his admission to the bar, but 
was afterwards abandoned in consequence of the [)ress- 
ure of jiolitical and other interests. He became actively 
engaged in financial affairs, was president or director in 
a number of insurance, railroad, and other corporations, 
and was offered by President Cleveland, during his first 
term, the position of United States sub-treasurer at New 
York. This he ikclined in consequence of the labor 
involveil. 1 le was frequently offered other jniblic posi- 
tions, and served, as has been saiil, as minister to the 
Netherlands. 

He edited "The Political Works of Charles G. Hal- 
pine," and was the author of " I'ive Acres too Much," a 
clever satire suggested by lulmund Morris's " Ten Acres 
Knough," also of " Progressive Petticoats," a luimorous 
illustration of medical habits. These are his best-known 
writings, aside from his magazine essays, which have 
been numerous. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



3J5 



ALBERT B. CHANDLER. 

Albekt ]?kii\\n Ciiaxdlkk, president of tlie Postal 
Telegraph Cable Company, was born at West Randolpli, 
Vermont, August 20, 1840. The American family of 
Chandlers had its origin in three brothers who settled at 
Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1637, and the subject of our 
sketch is also a descendant of John Winthrop, the first 
governor of Massachusetts, through his daughter, Mary 
Winthrop. 

Mr. Chandler was educated in the best schools of his 
native town, and when of suitable age spent his school 
\'acations in studxing the printer's art and in \\\)rking 
as a compositor in West Randolph and in Montpelier, 
Vermont. He also spent part of his leisure time in a 
telegraph-office located in a book-store in his nati\c town, 
performing duties here as a messenger and learning the 
art of operating. His knowledge of telegraphy thus 
gained stood him in good stead. His oldest brother, 
William W. Chandler, was then general freight agent 
of the Cleveland and Pittsburg Railroad, and procured 
him, m 1858, when eighteen years of age, the position 
of manager of the Western Lhiion Telegraph office at 
Bellaire, Ohio. 

Early in the following \-ear the }'oung operator was 
removed to Pittsburg and gi\-en a position in the office 
of the superintendent of the Cleveland and Pittsburg 
Railroad, and three months afterwards was made agent 
of the railroad at ALinchester, an important freight ship- 
ping-point opposite Pittsburg. He remained here until 
1863, when he entered the militar)' telegraph service of 
the government as cipher operator in the War Depart- 
ment at Washington, to which position, in October, 
was added that of disbursing clerk for General Kckert, 
superintendent of the Department of the Potomac. His 
duties took him fretiuentl)- to the armies in the field, 
and brought him into contact with the President and the 
chief officials of the government. 

In 1866, while the organization into one company of 
the several telegraph companies was in process of com- 
pletion, Mr. Chandler was made chief clerk in the super- 
intendent's office for the Eastern division, and also placed 
in charge of the transatlantic cable traffic, to which duties 
he subsequently added those of superintendent of the 
si.xth district of the Eastern division. 

The positions here named were filled by Mr. Chandler 
until January, 1875, when he was made assistant general 
manager of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company. 
From this post he rapidly ad\anced through the offices 
of secretary, trustee, treasurer, and vice-president to 
that of president, which position he attained in 1879, 
and held until the Atlantic and Pacific was absorbed by 




the Western Union in 1882. In October, 1881, he was 
offered and accepted the presidency of the Fuller Elec- 
trical Company, one of the first to engage in the arc 
system of electric lighting. In December, 1884. at the 
instance of John W. Mackay, he was emploj-ed as coun- 
sel by the Postal Telegraph and Cable Compan\', and in 
1885 was appointed, by the New York Supreme Court 
receiver of that company. When, through his efforts, 
the company was reorganized, he was elected its presi- 
dent and manager, and was also made general manager 
of the United Lines Telegraph Company. He also be- 
came a director, member of the executi\e committee, and 
vice-president of the Commercial Cable Company and of 
the Pacific Postal Telegraph Company, and a director, 
and afterwards president, of the Commercial Telegraph 
Company. 

Through Mr. Chandler's efforts the New York Stock 
P^xchange obtained control of the last-named company, 
he subsequently becoming vice-president and general 
manager of the New York Quotation Company, and 
afterwards president of the Br^Doklyn District Telegraph 
Company, of which he is at present a director. He is 
now president of the American District Telegraph Com- 
pan\', of Philadelphia, and of the Quotation Company in 
Boston. In 1887, he, with several of the chief officials 
of tlie Western Union Telegraph Company, effected 
arrangements for the discontinuance of the destructive 
competition which had pre\iously existed, much to the 
ad\antage of the telegraph companies and the public. 
The Postal Telegraph Compan}' has recently built itself a 
commodious new edifice, through Mr. Chandler's efforts, 
at the corner of Broadway and Murr^' Streets, New York. 



3i6 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



JOHN C. HAVEMRYHR. 

John Ckak; II.WEMiiVicK, son of William F. Ilavc- 
nicycr, for tlircc terms maj-or of New YorU, and grand- 
son of William Havemcycr, wiio came from Germany in 
1799 and settled in New York, was born in that cit\^ in 
1833. The Havcmeyers ha\e long been identified with 
the business of sugar refining in this country. William 
Havemeyer brougiit a knowledge of this business with 
him from Biickeburg, Germany, and started what was 
one of the earliest refineries in New York. He was suc- 
ceeded in this line of business by his son, William F. 
Havemc)-er, in whose hands it became much developed, 
and who retired from business with a competency at the 
age of forty, having won an enviable reputation for honor 
and integrity, and manifested a public spirit which was 
afterwards rewarded by his three successive elections to 
the mayoralty. 

The strong character and marked independence of 
spirit, whicli made the elder Mr. IIa\emeyer a notable 
personage in New York, were rellected in the character 
of his son, who lias displaj'ed the same courage, inde- 
pendence, and integrity throughout his career. Mr. 
I lavemeyer was educated at private schools, and prepared 
at Columbia College Grammar-School for a collegiate 
course, which he was prevented from completing through 
failure in his eyesight. On leaving college he spent two 
years in a wholesale grocery house, gaining there a practi- 
cal knowledge of business. On leaving these he spent 
a year in foreign travel, traversing Europe, Syria, and 
Egypt. Returning in 1854 lie entered the sugar refinery 
of Havemeyer & Moller, in which he took charge of the 
office-work. 

After two years of e.\])erience, Mr. Haveme\'er estab- 
lished a sugar refinery of his own in Brooklyn, upon 
capital furnished by liis father. This concern has since 
then grown into the great Ikjusc of I lavemej-er & Elder ; 
but Mr. Havemeyer soon withdrew from it, on account 
of the anxiety caused by the use of borrowed capital, 
and returned to office- work for Havemeyer & Moller. 
A year afterwards this firm dissolved. Mr. Havemeyer 
was offered a partnersiiip in the new firm by the suc- 
cessor of the old one, but declined, from the fact that he 



would again have to work with borrowed money. He 
remained, however, for two \ears, being paid for his ser- 
vices b\' a share of tlie ])rofits. At the enti nf this ])criod 
he startetl a commission business, which he contlucted 
successfully for several years, part of the time in partner- 
ship with his brothers. Failing health obliged him event- 
iiallv to retire from this business. 

In 1871 Mr. Havemeyer again embarked in the sugar- 
refining business, establishing a refinery at Greenpoint, 
Long Islantl, in compan\' with his brother aiul another 
partner, the firm being known as lla\eme\er. Brother & 
Co. In this he took charge of the financial antl com- 
mercial ilepartnient, and remainetl cngageil in it until 
1880, when his impaired health again forced him to retire. 
Since then he has not been actively engaged in business 
pursuits. 

Mr. Havemeyer was married in 1872, in Athens, 
Greece, to Alice A. F'raiicis, daughter of John M. Francis, 
then United States minister to Greece. He has been, 
during the greater part of his life, actively interested in 
various benevolent, religious, and other organizations in 
New York. His business Velations are with railroad 
organizations, in several of which he is a director, while 
he is a trustee in the Continental Trust Company of 
New York. He has served as e.xecutor and trustee of 
a number of large estates, which he has successfully 
managed. Of the societies with which he is connected 
may be named the American Bible Societ)-, the Mission- 
ary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the New 
York Sabbath Committee, the liible Revision Committee, 
the United States I-',vangelical Alliance, and the New- 
York I'ort Societj'. He has been particularly interested 
in the ux)ik in New \'ork of the Young Men's Christian 
Association, and was the organizer and first president of 
the Young Men's Cliristian Association of \'onkers. In 
addition to his active labors in these fields of charity and 
religion, he has aided them with his pen, having been a 
frequent contributor to the ]jress on religious, political, 
and other subjects. Dining liis later years he has de- 
voted much time and thought to the inxestigation of the 
problems of philanthropic work, religious truth, and the 
relation of phj'sical conditions to mental and moral [)hc- 
nomena. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



117 



WILLIAM KEMSEN. 

The ancestor of tlic Remscn family in America, Rem 
Jansed Vanderbceck, came to tliis country in the early 
days of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, being the 
descendant of an ancient German family which can be 
traced back as far as 1162. He settled in Albany, and 
afterwards in Brooklyn, and left a large family who, after 
his death, dropped the name of Vanderbeeck, and adopted 
Remsen as their family name, — a custom not uncommon 
among the early Dutch settlers. Of the Remsens, several 
became wealth}- New York merchants, including Hen- 
drick Remsen, born in 170S, and his son Henry, born in 
1736, and who became one of the largest dry-goods 
importers of his day. He also took a prominent part 
in public affairs as a Revolutionary patriot. There 
were several other Remsens who became rich mer- 
chants. 

Henry Remsen had nine children, of whom only two 
married. William Remsen, one of the latter, was born 
in New York, November 7, 1762, and in 1790, after 
obtaining his education in the city schools of that day, 
^entered his father's business house, and continued in a 
subordinate capacit\- until he had gained a good working 
acquaintance with the business, when, in 1790, he was 
admitted as a business partner of his father. The name 
of the new firm was made Henry Remsen & Son. The 
house was then situated in Little Water Street. 

William Remsen, howe\-er, soon diverted his interests 
to financial and, to some extent, to public affairs. In 
1793 lie accepted the position of teller in the United 
States Bank, and on June 3, 1799, entered the establish- 
ment of the Manhattan Company as cashier. In 1808 
he married Eliza, daughter of Captain Abraham de 
Pej-ster, and in the same year was elected president of 
the Manliattan Company. In this responsible position 
lie gained a wide reputation as an able financier, ami 
continued to hold the office until 1826, occupying a lead- 
ing position in the banking interests of the city. 

Aside from his private business relations, Mr. Remsen, 
during his younger life, occupied a number of public 
positions of importance. He became in 1786 secretary 
to John Jay, when that noted statesman was appointed 
b_\- the old Congress Secretary for Foreign Affairs. At 
a later date, that of the Presidency of John Adams, Mr. 
Remsen ser\-ed as private secretary to Thomas Jefferson, 
w hen the latter was Secretary of State in the cabinet of 
the Adams administration. 




Mr. Remsen died in New York City in Fcbruarj-, 1843. 
He had nine children, of whom William, Robert G., and 
Elizabeth alone survive. 

This sketch of a family line which has pla\-ed an im- 
portant part in the history of New York from almost the 
foundation of the city to the present time may be com- 
pleted by a brief reference to the oldest living represen- 
tative of the family, William Remsen the younger, the 
seventh in lineal descent from the original Rem Jansen 
Vanderbeeck. 

The present Mr. Remsen was born in New York, Janu- 
ary 13, 1815. After a preparation for a collegiate course, 
he entered Princeton College, where he graduated in 1835. 
His studies there were followed by a three years' course 
of legal stud}-, and b}- admission to the bar in 1838. 
He continued in the active practice of the profession for 
five years subsequent!}', but at the end of this period, 
his father dying, he was forced to retire from legal prac- 
tice and relinquish a professional career to take charge 
of his father's estate, of which he had been appointed 
one of the administrators. The property was a large 
one, and the care of it has since engrossed his time and 
attention. He has had none of his father's taste for 
public life, finding his chief pleasure in home interests 
and duties. For many years he has been a warden and 
vestryman of St. Mark's Church, and a liberal contributor 
to benevolent objects. He married in 1848 Jane Suydam, 
and has had eiLdit children, nf whom five are now living. 



41 



lis 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




MOST REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 

Akchbishop John IIl'c.hks, a distinguished pixlatc of 
the Roman Cathohc Church in this country, and widely 
noted for elocjuence, learning, ability, and religious zeal, 
was a native of Ireland, being born at Annaloghan, 
County Tyrone, June 24, 1797. His father, who was a 
farmer in good circumstances, possessed an excellent 
education for his condition in life, and his mother was a 
woman of much refinement of character. John Hughes 
as a boy became marked for his studious character, ilesire 
of learning, and aspirations to a career in the priesthood. 

The family came to America in 1816, settling at Cham- 
bersburg, Pennsj'h-ania. This was not far from Mt. St. 
Mary's College, a Catholic institution at Emmitsburg, 
Maryland, and here the youthful aspirant for the priest- 
hood pursued a course of cla.ssical and theological .studies, 
studying diligently and graduating with much credit. 
He was ordained as a member of the priesthood of the 
Catholic Church by IJishop Conwell, at .St. Joseph's 
Church, Philadeli)hia, October 15, 1826. 

He had, even before his ordination, taken part in 
several religious controversies, a ]irelude to his future 
career, in which he became eminent for controversial 
ability. His powers of oratory were natively excellent, 
and within a year of his ordination he had gained such 
reputation as an elociuent preacher that he was ajjpointed 
pastor of St. Mary's Church, Philadelphia. Soon after he 
returned to St. Joseph's, entering there into contro\ersy, 
and organizing the Catholic Tract Society, for which he 
wrote the first book, " Andrew Dunn." He also f.iunded 
St. John's Orphan A.sylum for boys. In 1829 he preached 
the thanksgiving .sermon on the passage of the Irish 
Emancipation Act, with remarks that brought him into 
a controversial contest with Rev. Dr Delancey, of the 
CItiiicli Register. 



In 1830 Mr. Hughes became the companion of Bishop 
Kenrick during a pastoral journey through the large 
diocese of Philadelphia. In 1832, on the occasion of 
the Diocesan Synod at Phihuielphia, he preached the 
opening sermon, and was one of a connnission of three 
di\ines appointed to take measures towards the found- 
ing of a theological seminary. During the same year 
he gained great reputation in theological circles for his 
ability in a vigorous controversy with the Rev. John 
Breckenridge, of Kentucky. 

He was several times nominated for a bishopric, and in 
1837 was appointed coadjutor-bishop to Bishop Dubois, 
of New York, being consecrated under the title of Bishop 
of Basiliopolis at St. Patrick's Cathedral, in that citj-. 
The health of Bishop Dubois continued to decline until, 
in 1839, he was relie\ed from duty, and Dr. Hughes 
appointed in his place administrator of the diocese. He 
quickly showed himself an acti\e incumbent of the post, 
founded St. John's College, at P\)rdham, and in 1840, on 
his return from an European tour, entered warmly into 
a controversy respecting the ])ublic schools which had 
arisen in his absence. His ability, courage, and firmness 
in this controversj- constituted it one of the most im[)or- 
tant events of his life. Other events of moment in his 
career followed, and in 1854, tiuring the outbreak of 
Know-Nothingism, he became the leader of the Catholics 
in their struggle for their rights. The peril of a violent 
attack on the churches was pre\ented by his ])romi)t 
and vigorous measures, and the struggle gradually 
subsided into a fierce newspaper controvcrsj-, in which 
he proved a powerful champion of the cause of Ills 
Church. 

In 1884 the Rev. John McCloskey was appointed his 
coadjutor. He attended the Sixth Church Council at 
Baltimore, and afterwards secured the division of his 
tliocese, the new ilioceses of Buffalo and Albany being 
formed from it. The Sisters of Charitj', who were intro- 
duced by him into New "S'ork in 1S46, were organized 
into a separate society by him in 1847. In 1849-50 the 
diocese of New York was made an archtlioccse, and Dr. 
Hughes appointed its first archbishop. He received the 
pallium, the emblem of metropolitan jurisdiction, from 
the Pope's own hands at Rome. 

Before going to Rome he had announceil his ])urpose 
of erecting a new cathedral in New York, ami in 1S58 
laiil the corner-stone of the magnificent .St. Patrick's 
Cathedral, on P'ifth .\\enue, a great work which he |)ros- 
ecuted to the completion of the basement, when the out- 
break of war com[)elled a suspension of operations. In 
1861 he went to Europe, at Presiilent Lincoln's request, 
on business connected with the war between the North 
and South. He renilered other [)atriotic services during 
the war, and dietl January 3, 1864, in the midst of his 
fame and usefulness. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



319 



JAMES W. BEEKMAN. 

James William Bl-:EK^L\^■, born in New York, Novem- 
ber 22, 181 5, was the fiftli in lineal descent from William 
(or Wilhelmus) Beekman, who came from Holland with 
Peter Stu)-\esant in 1647, and played an important part 
in the early histor\- of New York, both under Dutch and 
English rule. Mr. Beekman's father was Gerard Beek- 
man, his mother Catharine Sanders, daughter of Captain 
John Sanders, a Revolutionarj' soldier, and a descendant 
of Major John A. Glen, who commanded at Schenec- 
tady when that settlement was burned by the French and 
Indians, in the winter of 1689-90. Mr. Beekman was 
also related to a large number of other prominent New 
York families. 

His early education was received at home, under pri- 
vate tutors, after which he entered Columbia College, 
where he graduated in 1834. He subsequently studied 
law in the office of John L. Mason. He had, however, 
no particular occasion to practice ; the death of his 
father in 1833, and of his uncle four years later, leaving 
him the heir to valuable property. On this property 
stood the old " Beekman mansion," near the intersection 
of the present First Avenue and Fiftieth Street, built 
about 1750, and occupied by the British commanders 
and their friends during the Re\'olutionar)- War. Among 
the points of special interest of this house were the room 
occupied by Major Andre before his fatal journej- to meet 
General Benedict Arnold, and the garden greenhouse in 
which Captain Nathan Hale was tried and condemned. 

His law studies completed, Mr. Beekman made several 
long journeys through the northern United States, and 
in 1838 went to Europe with his college friend. Evert A. 
Duyckinck, his return home being made in one of the 
earliest steam-\essels which crossed the Atlantic to New 
York. In 1S40 he married Abian Steele Milledoler, 
daughter of Rev. Philip Milledoler (president of Rutgers 
College), and granddaughter of General John Steele, a 
Revolutionary patriot and frienil of Washington. For a 
number of \'ears afterwards they resided in the old Beek- 
man mansion. In 1874 the growth of the city required 
its removal, when the historical portions were transferred 
in part to the New York Historical Society rooms, in part 
were removed to Oyster Bay. 

Mr. Beekman, although having important business 
affairs of his own to attend to, served the public on vari- 
ous occasions. He was elected State Assemblyman for 
one term, and served afterwards for two terms as State 
Senator. While in the Legislature he secured the passage 
of important modifications of the tax laws, by which the 
personal liberty of the delinquent tax-payer was assured. 
He was chairman of the Senate committee which re- 
ported the bill creating Central Park, a measure which 
he warmly advocated. He also served as a member of 




the New York Board of Education, taking great interest 
in the public school system, which he sought earnestly to 
advance. Other public positions held by him were those 
of trustee of Columbia College and of Greenwood Ceme- 
ter\'. 

At the outbreak of the war, wdien the " Star of the 
West" was sent to Charleston harbor with pro\isions for 
the garrison of Fort Sumter, Mr. Beekman was one of 
three who w-ent to Washington to obtain protection for 
this vessel on her important errand. They failed, how- 
ever, to obtain any response from the President, the vessel 
was fired on, and the war began, w'hose vigorous prosecu- 
tion he strongly favored. 

Mr. Beekman was one of the founders of the Union 
League Club, and for a time its vice-president. He was 
a member and officer also of the St. Nicholas Society, 
and one of the founders and the first president of the 
St. Nicholas Club. Other societies in which he held 
membership were the Century Association and the 
New York Historical Society, of which latter he was 
vice-president. He was cc^mected also with many so- 
cieties of a benevolent character, including the New 
York Hospital, of which he was a governor and vice-presi- 
dent, the Woman's Hospital, w-hich he served as president 
from its foundation till his death, and the New York Dis- 
pensary. Much of his time and attention were given to 
hospital work, and during his journeys to Europe he 
studied earnestly hospital management and construction 
abroad, while at home he delivered several notable ad- 
dresses before hospital boards. He died June 15, 1877, 
of an illness contracted in the prosecution of his duty as 
an officer of the New York Hospital His children are 
Catharine B., wife of William Warner Hoppin, Gerard, 
James William, Jr., and Cornelia A. Beekman. 



320 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




DANIKI. DRAKF.-SMITH. 

Daniel Dkake-Smhii, lon^ prominent in insurance 
circles in New York, was born in that city Aiii^ust 29, 
1818. His father, Joscpli Drake-Smith, had been a 
merchant of New York during the early part of the 
century, and his paternal ancestors, of English descent, 
were among the early settlers of Long Island. On the 
mother's side he was descended from a family of Hugue- 
nots, who left France upon the rc\'ocation of the I'.dict 
of Nantes, settled for a time in Holland, and left there to 
join the early mo\-ement of emigration to America. 

Mr. Drake-Smith was educated in the schools of New 
York, his course at the hi^h school of that city being 
supplemented by a classical course at the school of 
Baldwin & Forest, in Warren Street. In 1S31, while 
still but thirteen years of age, he began his business life, 
entering the establishment of Benjamin Babcock, after- 
wards of the firm of Babcock & Su)dam, large importers 
of Knglish and French dry goods. He rmiained there, 
gaining a knowledge of the business and performing the 
duties suitable to a boy of his age, until 1.S35, when the 
store, situated in Pearl Street, near Hanover Square, was 
destroyed by fire, being one of the first t<> be swept away 
in the great conflagration of that jear. 

There followed the financial crisis of 1837, with its 
ilisturbing effect upon business, after which, when still 
only in his twentieth year, Mr. Drake-Smith engaged in 
what was to be the future occupation of his life, enter- 
ing the office of the Atlantic Insurance Company. He 
remained connected with this company for a considerable 
number of years, becoming its secretar)- and de\eloi)ing 
that acquaintance with insurance matters upon which his ; 



success in life was based. In 1S52 he withdrew from 
the Atlantic Company and established the Commercial 
Mutual Insurance Company, of which he became presi- 
dent. The marked ability and success with which he dis- 
charged the duties of this position brought the coni])any 
into a very prosperous condition. His connection witii 
it continued for twenty-se\cn years, lie finallj- retiring 
from acti\e business life in February, 1879. In March 
of that year, in acknowledgment of his valuable services 
in the founding and development of the comi)any, the 
trustees of the Commercial Mutual gave a dinner in his 
honor at Delmonico's, where they presented him with an 
elegant bronze vase as a memento. 

Mr. Drake-Smith's active life was not confined to his 
.service in this compaii)-. He became a member of the 
Chamber of Commerce in 1858, antl continued stronglj- 
interested in its affairs during the remainder of his life, 
often serving upon important committees of this body. 
He also became a member anil vice-president of the New 
York Board of Marine I'ndcrw rikrs. At a later ilatc he 
was made its president, which office he held at the time 
of his retirement from business. As an underwriter his 
ability was ver}' marked, and those engaged in marine 
insurance often sought his opinion upon difficult ques- 
tions. The New York pilots had in him a warm and 
active friend, he pleading their cause on more than one 
occasion before legislati\'e bodies when their interests 
were threatened by acKerse laws. 

Mayor Kdson appointed hini in 1S83 one of the Board 
of Rapid Transit Conimissioners, which board chose him, 
upon organizing, as its chairman, in token of their a]ipre- 
ciation of his ability anil integrity. He proved in this 
capacity an active and earnest cham|iion of the jjublic 
interests, heedfuUy opposing every step which lie deemed 
likely to be detrimental to the good of the people. He 
resigned the chairmanship in 1882. 

In addition to the several interests mentioned, Mr. 
Drake-Smith served at various times as a director in a 
number of lianks and oilier institutions. Asiile from 
business he was a man of active literary tastes and of 
witle scholarship, the result of persistent reading anil 
close stud\- of literature and of scientific and philosoph- 
ical subjects. His leisure time was largelj- spent among 
his books or in literarj- work, he being, previous to i860, 
a frequent contributor to the New York press. In 1867 
he published Spinoza's " lithics," w hich he had translated 
from the Latin. During the ci\-il war he was an earnest 
su|i]iorter of the government, contributing largely of his 
means, and speaking frequentlj- in his country's interest 
upon occasions of moment. He died at his jilace of 
residence at I-jiglewood, New Jersej'. Februar)- 8, 1887, 
liMving behind him ,ui en\iable reputation. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



321 



WILLIAM W. NILES. 

Jf)HN NiLES, a Puritan immigrant to this country, was 
a citizen of Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1636. Of his 
descendants there were se\-eral of eminence. Nathaniel 
Niles, born in 1741, studied theolog)-, medicine, and law, 
and grew proficient in each, while he was an able mecha- 
nician and the producer of several important in\'entions. 
He was also a legislator and an author, his poem " The 
American Hero" becoming a war song during the Revo- 
lution. He afterwards became a judge of the Vermont 
Su]ireme Court and a member of Congress. His son 
William Niles, also practiced law and became a judge 
in the courts of Vermont. 

William Watson Niles, son of Judge William Niles, 
was born at West Fairlee, Vermont, March 26, 1822. 
He studied under his father's instruction, and could read 
Latin almost as early as he coukl English. He studied 
later at Bradford Acadeni)- and Newberry Seminary, 
and afterwards taught school for several terms. In this 
he progressed so rajiidly that at twenty years of age he 
was principal of an acadenn-. He afterwards became 
principal of a seminary, of which his sister, not yet 
fifteen, had charge of the female department. After this 
experience in the life of a teacher Mr. Niles entered 
Dartmouth College, passed through a course of colle- 
giate instruction, and graduated in 1845. Having chosen 
the legal profession, he entered the office of his brother, 
Judge Niles, of La Porte, Indiana, where, while reading 
law, he translated dail}- part of the Iliad to keep fresh 
his classical knowledge, and assisted the professor of 
Chcmistr\- in the Indiana Medical College during the 
lecture period. 

On completing his law studies he came to New York, 
where he entered the law office of General John Coch- 
rane, to gain familiarity with New York law. He be- 
gan practice at the same time, and found his business in- 
creasing so rapidly that it became necessary that he 
should enter at once on a long-wishedfor European 
tour or give up the idea. He chose the former alter- 
native, and traveled widely over the British Islands and 
the Continent, largely on foot. This useful outing com- 
pleted, Mr. Niles returned to New York, reopened his 
office, and quickly regained the business he had tempo- 
rarily set aside. His practice increased so rapidly and 
has continued so large that it has since then kept him 
constantly employed. 

Mr. Niles, during his long legal experience, has been 
concerned in many notable cases, some of them of 
striking character. Among these was the divorce suit 
of Stowell vs. Stowell, in which he first established the 
doctrine that an attempt to corrupt the morals of a wife 




is satisfactory groimds for a limited divorce, even when 
there has been no physical violence or harsh language 
on the part of the husband. 

Politically Mr. Niles was originally a Free-Soil Demo- 
crat. He afterwards became a Republican, and continued 
so till 1 872, when he supported his friend, Horace Greeley, 
for President. Since then he has continued a Democrat. 
He has been active in all movements for reform in city 
and State affairs, and was the organizer of the Citizens' 
Association, w hich compelled both parties to make satis- 
factory' nominations. Dining the reign of the Tweed 
faction Mr. Niles and some others sought nominations 
to the Assembly for the purpose of obtaining legislative 
redress. He was elected, and placed on the Judiciary 
Committee, in which he obtained a resolution of im- 
peachment of the judges who supported Tweed, and 
afterwards assisted in the trial and conviction of Judge 
Barnard before the Court of Impeachment, at Saratoga, 
in 1872. 

During the civil war Mr. Niles took part in the re- 
cruiting of several regiments. He organized the Central 
Lo\al League, to combat the efforts of .Southern sym- 
pathizers, and became a life-senator in this league. He 
was again elected to the Assembly in 1881, and has since 
been acti\e in the effort to provide New York with a 
new and great park area. He was one of the commis- 
sioners who laid out the nearly five thousand acres of 
new park lands. 

Mr. Niles has been engaged in many successful busi- 
ness enterprises, and for many years has been a contrib- 
utor to the press, — usually anonj^mous. He has recently 
published a volume of poems for private circulation. 



322 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



/ 




DELANO C. CAIAIN. 

Dki.ano Ciiii'MAN Cal\in, formerly siirroijatc of the 
cf)unty of \c\v York, and loiv^ a prominent lawyer, was 
born in Jefferson County, New York, No\eniber 3. 1824. 
His grandfatlicr was a law)-er of X'ermont, who removed 
to New York State in 181 S, iiis father a farmer. He was 
brought up on tile farm, and liad but limited carl}- oppor- 
tunities for education, iiis four final years of schooling 
being in what was known as a "select school," another 
term for private school. This he attended during the 
colder months, the farm labors requiring his time during 
the warm season of the year. At twenty he left home 
to enter the Hlack River Literarj- Institute, at Water- 
town, New York, and at the same time began a course 
of legal study in the office of John Clarke, then a prom- 
inent lawyer of Northern New York. He remained thus 
engaged until 1848, one year of the three being spent at 
the Lancaster Academy at Rochester. Here he had the 
opportunity of attending a term of the Supreme Court, 
and the advantage of listening to many of the most 
noted lawyers of that day. 

In 1848 he entered a law school at Cherry Valley, 
from which he graduated in the following year. Ik- 
was shortly afterwards admittetl to the bar, and began 
the practice of the law ;it Watertow 11 in partnership with 
his late preceptor, Mr. John Clarke. Mr. Calvin's busi- 
ness rapidly grew, his legal ability been declared. In 
1852 he was made district attorney for his native county, 
a position which he held for three years. Iiis residence 



in New York City began in 1867, where he soon became 
associr.tetl with Richard O'Gorman, corporation counsel, 
and Henry H. Anderson, in the suit of the cit)- to gain 
control of the docks and prevent their obstruction by 
pri\ate structures to the detriment of the public interests. 
This case excited much attention. It was won for the 
city, and Mr. Calvin's active connection with it brought 
him strongly into public notice. 

In 1876, upon the death of .Surrogate Van Schaick, 
Mr. Calvin was appointed to fill the vacancy, and in the 
following autumn was elected to complete the remainder 
of the term. He held this office till 1882, discharging 
its duties with much success and ability. One of his 
first official acts was to probate the will of Alc.Kaiuler 
T. Stewart. The famous contest over the Vanderbilt 
will was also made before him. During his five )'ears' 
occupancy of the office the business disposed of covered 
about $900,000,000 worth of property. His opinions as 
surrogate elicited much approbation, they being consid- 
ered " models of composition, as well as reliable jjrece- 
dents on all questions which they discuss." In 1S81 a 
large number of members of the bar gave him a public 
dinner at Dclmonico's, as an expression of their " high 
estimation of his judici.d and personal character." In 
the same jcar he received from Hobart College the 
honorary degree of LL.D. 

He failed to be re-elected surrogate in 1881, owing to 
a division in the ranks of the Democratic party, though 
the great majority of practicing lawyers voted for him, 
so popular had been his administration of the affairs of 
the office. In 1882 he resumed the practice of his pro- 
fession, in which since that date he has continued ;icti\ely 
engaged. 

Mr. Calvin has long been an earnest advocate of 
Democratic principles, and long before his election was 
a frienil and confidant of Governor Seymour and of 
other prominent party leaders in the State. As a po- 
litical orator he ranks high, being spoken of as " a rapid, 
forcible, elocpient speaker, reaily in retort, keen in sar- 
casm, impregnable in his facts, logical in reasoning, and 
clear in the presentation of tlic issues before the peo])le." 
In June, 1886, he delivered an elo(]uent memorial adilress 
upiin Horatio Seymour Ijefore the Associate Alumni and 
I'hi Heta Kappa Society of Hobart College. In addilicm 
to his addresses, he has written with much clearness and 
ability on man)' subjects of i)ii|)idar interest, such as 
Munici|)al Government, Church Polity, Trusts, I'rohibi- 
tion, etc. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



REV. GILES H. MANDEVILLE. 

Giles Henry Mandeville, boin in New York City, 
December 12, 1825, is a descendant of Gillis Jansen de 
Mandeville, who emigrated from Holland to America in 
1649, settling at first on Long Island and then in New 
Amsterdam. In 1701 Hendrick Mandeville bought land 
in Morris County, New Jersey, and there the subject of 
our sketch lived after the period of infancy. His love 
of study and display of religious convictions induced 
his parents to educate hini for the ministry, and, after a 
preparatory course of study, he was entered at Rutgers 
College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he gradu- 
ated with honors in 1848. After graduation he entered 
upon a course of theological study in the Seminary of the 
Reformed Church in America, connected with Rutgers 
College, and graduated there in 1851 with the degree of 
D.D. He was thereupon licensed to preach and ordained 
to the ministry. 

While still in the seminary Dr. Mande\illc recei\'ed a 
call to the Reformed Church of Flushing, Long Island, 
and was ordaineil there in 1851. The place was small 
and the church weak, but the congregation was one of 
cultuie, and the ability of the young minister caused a 
steady growth in numbers and prosperity, so that, at 
the end of his eight years of ser\ice there, he had raised 
the church to a prominent position among those of the 
denomination. While there he wrote a history of Flush- 
ing, acknowledged to be the best ever produced. 

In 1859 he left Flushing in response to a call from 
Ncwburgh, New York. It was again a missionary work 
which he undertook. The cit_\' was in a flourishing con- 
dition, but the Reformed Church there was feeble and 
needed energy and ability to bring it into a prosperous 
state. These Dr. Mandeville had, and he entered cour- 
ageously upon his work, laboring actively for ten years 
and with an encouraging measure of success. At the 
end of this period he accepted a call from New York 
Cit}-, to take charge of the Dutch Reformed Church of 
Harlem. The church here was a very ancient one, 
having been organized in 1660, in the then village of 
New Amsterdam, four j^cars before the English con- 
verted it into New York. When Dr. Mandeville took 
charge of this church its condition was a satisfactory 
one, and he was not obliged to build up his congrega- 
tion as he had done in his two pre\-ious stations. His 
eloquence as an orator and power as an expounder of 
the Scriptures, however, soon added to the circle of his 
auditors, and as the city extended more and more up- 
town the congregation of the historic church grew grati- 
fj'ingly large. 

Satisfactory as was his success here, however. Dr. 




Mancleville had other purposes in view, and after eleven 
years of nu'nisterial service in this church he resigned 
his charge to undertake a line of work in which he was 
earnestly interested. He had long been a member of the 
Board of Education of the Reformed Church, an impor- 
tant part of whose work was connected with institutions 
in the West. A college had been established in Michigan 
in 1866, which had now become so weak pecuniarily 
that its functions had been in part suspended. At this 
critical juncture in its affairs Dr. Mandeville was elected 
provisional president, and undertook to handle the finan- 
cial and other interests of the college from his parsonage 
in New Ycirk. Such a task was a difficult one, but it 
was successfully performed. The management of the 
college was improved, money raised by appeals for a.s- 
sistance, and after two years' control Dr. Mandeville laid 
down his office, having put the college on its feet again 
with several thousand dollars' surplus in its treasury. 

His resignation from his pastoral charge was that he 
might devote his whole time and attention to the inter- 
ests of the Board of Education, in which he now accepted 
the office of corresponding secretar\- and assumed the 
direction of the affairs of the boartl. In this work he is 
still engaged, he being particularly active in sustaining 
several struggling church institutions in the West and 
in obtaining funds for the support of students for the 
ministry. 

Dr. Mandeville was married in Jul}-, 185 i, to Rachel 
Jacobus, of Morris County, New Jersey. He has had a 
family of three daughters and one son, the latter, Henry 
A. Mandeville, having become a prominent physician of 
New York City. 



324 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




REV. BERNARD PETERS. 

Bernard Peters, editor and [iinpriciorof the 15n>oklyii 
Daily Times, was born at Diircklieim, Germany, October 
II, 1827, and was brought to this country as a child 
by his fatlier, wiio settled at Marietta, Ohio. There he 
received a common school education, and w hen si.xteen 
years of age began the study of law under Ferdinand 
Buell. While thus engaged he became an earnest stu- 
dent of the political history of the country, a line of 
study which has been of much service to him in his 
later career. On the completion of his legal course he 
was induced by a friend, Rev. T. C. Eaton, to study for 
the ministry, and entered for this purpose Clinton Liberal 
Institute, Clinton, New York, in 184.S. In 1S52 Mr. '• 
Peters was ordained as a minister of the Universalist [ 
denomination, and took charge nf the .Sccund Univcr- j 
salist Church of Cincinnati, whose pastorate he heki for 
four years. At the entl of this period he became [pastor 
of the First Univcr.sali.st Church of Williamsburg (now ' 
known as All Souls' Church of Hrooklyn), of which 
he remained in charge for eight years. 

During this jjeriod he made an extensive journey 
abroad, and took the op])oitunity to i)Mrsue his theo- 
logical studies at Heidelberg University. lie also cor- 
responded for the Hrooklyn 'liiius .ind the Cincinnati 
TiiiiiS. During the civil war, which tonk [)l.ice uhile he 
was stationed at Williamsburg, his ijidilical knowledge 
enableil him to treat the issues invohed in a manner 
that attracted much attention from patriotic citizens. 
I lis church was usually crowded, and his jjowers as a 
speaker so marked that his services were in wide demand. 



The strain of these incessant labors broke down his 
health, and in 1864 he accepted a call from the Univer- 
salist Church of Ilartfortl, Connecticut, hoping to be 
benefited by the change. 

Mr. Peters did not long retain this new pastoral charge. 
His abilitj- as a political speaker induced some of the 
Hartford people to request him to wiite editorial articles 
for the Hartford Post, and in the end he found it desirable 
to resign his jiastorate and become the acknowledged 
editor of the paper. On the sale of the Post, a few )'ears 
afterwards, he retired from the editorship, and in 1868 
purchased a half interest in the Brooklyn Daily Times, 
at the request of its projirietor, Hon. George C. Bennett. 
In 1875 he i)urchased the remaining interest and became 
sole proprietor of the paper. Untler his charge the 
career of this journal has been one of steady success^ 
It has been three times enlarged, its publication space 
and press facilities have been extended, and it is to-day 
a journal of great influence and success, which are 
large))- due to the enterprise, judgment, and editorial 
ability of the proprietor. Much of its success is due 
to its persistent aiK-ocac)' of the true interests of the 
city ami the countr\-, it being steadil)- acli\e in the cause 
of reform. 

The Times was the first jc)innalistic advocate of high 
schools in BrookKn, a project to \\ hich there was vigor- 
ous opposition, but which was finally carried by the 
education of the community through the persistence of 
Mr. Peters in this good cause. To-day Brooklyn pos- 
sesses two high schools equal to any in the countrj-. 
Elevated railways were similarK- advocated by the Times, 
whose intelligent discussion uf the subject hail much to 
do with o\crcoming the op[iosition and permitting the 
railways to be built. The great atKantage of these in 
the extension and dt-\el(ipnii,nt i-^i the city is very iil)\ ious. 

The Times has as earnestlj' adxocated other measures 
of public improvement, such as increased ferry accom- 
modations for Brooklyn, which were gained after a ten 
years' demaml, and the establishment of a central mar- 
ket for Brooklyn and P'ast New York on the unused 
navy-yaril lands in the Wallabout. It took twenty years 
to accomplish this object. This localit_\- will soon be the 
site of one of the largest and most important markets in 
the world. 

Ml. IVtcis, tiirciugh the columns of the Times, has 
advocated other schemes of public imi)rovement, and 
has made his paper a power with all citizens who fu-or 
municipal progress. Throughout his career he has been 
a fearless advocate of justice and progress, am! an ciiiust 
champion of the public good. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



32s 



FREDERICK D. TAPPEN. 

Frederick D. Tappen, long conspicuous among the 
bankers of New York City, was born in that city Janu- 
ary 29, 1 829, the son of Charles B. and Elizabeth Tappen. 
On his father's side he is a lineal descendant, in the 
seventh generation, of Jurian Teunisse Tappen, one of 
the early immigrants from Holland, who resided at Fort 
Orange in 1662. Several of the members of the family 
were prominent in colonial and later history. John 
Tappen became editor and proprietor of the Plebeian 
(now the Ulster Argus) m 18 14, and was postmaster of 
Kingston in 1815. His son, Charles B. Tappen, came to 
New York at eight years of age, and lived there till his 
death, April 6, 1893, at ninety-eight }'ears of age, being 
still mentall)' and physically vigorous to a remarkable 
degree. He was an architect by profession, but served 
in many municipal offices. 

His son, Frederick D. Tappen, was educated at first in 
the Columbia College Grammar-School, and later in the 
University of the City of New York, where he graduated 
in 1 849. In the following year he entered the National 
Bank (now the Gallatin National Bank) as a clerk. He 
continued to fill various minor positions in this institu- 
tion until 1857, when he was made its cashier. In 1S68 
he was elected president of the bank-. This [josition he 
lias since continued to hold, and by his able management 
of its finances, as well as his efficient action at the various 
critical points in the business affairs of the country, has 
won his present high standing among the bankers of the 
metropolis. 

Since his appointment to the post of cashier, in 1857, 
Mr. Tappen has been prominent in the banking interests 
of New York City. His natural aptitude for financial 
business, his thorough schooling in the practical details 
of banking, and the earnest study he has gi\-en to finances 
since his youthful days, with his naturally cool and excel- 
lent judgment, have given him an acknowledged promi- 
nence in the financial world, and he has been frequently 
consulted, and his advice taken, on subjects of grave 
import in finance by the heads of the State and national 
banking departments of government. 

His quickness and wisdom of judgment were strikingly 
siiown in the financial panics of 1862, 1873, 1884, and 
particularly in that of 1893. In 1873 and at subsequent 
critical periods he acted as chairman of the Loan Com- 
mittee of the Clearing House Association. During the 
severe financial panic of 1893 he was, for three months, 
in dailj- attendance at the Clearing House, where his 
earnest, decided, and well-chosen measures aided greatly 
in strengthening the condition of the banks, and elicited 




warm expressions of approval from banking circles from 
all o\er the country. So efficient and unremitting were 
his labors that his associates on the committee, in testi- 
monial of their earnest appreciation of his useful service, 
presented him with a valuable ancient i)iece of silver, 
whose inscription and other satisfactory evidence shows 
to have been the tankard presented in 1696 to Sir John 
Honblon, first governor of the Bank of England, by the 
directors, for his services in a period of unusual financial 
strain. 

This old piece of plate, which was obtained in London 
some years ago by a ctillector of old silver relics, and 
purchased by the committee, had engraved on its lid an 
inscription similar t(5 that on the body of the tankard, 
with the substitution of the name of Mr. Tappan and the 
appropriate date, and was presented by the committee 
as " a unique and appropriate testimonial under circum- 
stances surrounding the first presentation, closely parallel 
to those of our recent financial troubles." The inscrip- 
tion states that it is given " in token of his great ability, 
industry, and strict uprightness at a time of extreme diffi- 
culty." 

Mr. Tappan has been president of the Clearing House 
Association since 1873, and has given much of his time 
and attention to its affairs. He is vice-president of the 
Metropolitan Trust Company, a director in the Bank of 
New Amsterdam, the Si.xth National Bank, and the 
Queen Insurance Company, and is a trustee of tiie Royal 
Insurance Company of Liverpool. He is a member of 
the Union League, Union, Metropolitan, St. Nicholas, and 
Grolier Clubs. * 



42 



326 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




GENERAL WAGER SWAYNE. 

Gi:m;ka[. Wagek Swavnk, a tli.stiii<^uislicd officer in 
tlic civil war, and a member of the New York bar, was 
born at Columbus, Ohio, November lO, 1834. His 
father, Jud^e Noah II. Swayne, was associate justice of 
the United States Supreme Court from 1861 to 1881. 
His mother, Sarah Ann Wager, a lady of Virginian birth, 
set her slaves free on her marriage to Judge Swaj-ne, and 
during the remainder of her life was a w^irm friend and 
protector of the colored race. 

General Swaj-ne was educated at Yale College, where 
he gratluated in 1856, in a class which included Chaun- 
cey M. Depew, Judges Brow n and Brewer of the United 
States Supreme Court, Judge Macgruder of the Illinois 
Supreme Court, and others of subsequent note. After 
graduating lie entered the Cincinnati Law School, where 
he graduated in 1859. Being admitted to the bar, he 
practiced for two years as law partner of his father, but 
on the outbreak of war immediately offered his services 
to the government. His parents were both Virginians 
by birth, but s\nipathi/.ed with the Union cause, and 
were in full accord with his ])atri()tic action. He took 
active part in recruiting, and in Jul\-, 1861, was appointed 
major of the Forty-third Ohio Volunteers. 

His regiment took part in the Missouri can)])aign 
under General Pope in 1861-1862, and he subseiiuently 
was engaged in the caj)ture of New Madrid and Island 
Number Ten, and in the battles of Corinth and luka. 
The commander of his regiment was killed in battle at 
Corinth, and Major Swayne took command, in which 
he was subsequently confirmed In- a commission as 
colonel. 

Colonel Swayne was engaged in the succeeding cam- 
paigns in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama until the 
autumn nf iSf>3, and was with General Sherman during 



his famous " march to tlie sea." In the succeeding 
march north he had the misfortune to lose his riszht le<r 
by the explosion of a shell, in an engagement at the 
crossing of the Salkehatchie River, South Carolina. 
As a reward for his " gallant and distinguished ser- 
vices" during this action he was brevetted brigadier- 
general. At a later date he was promoted to the full 
rank. 

General Swayne's serious wound invalided him till 
June, 1865, when, at the request of General Howard, 
chief of the Freedman's Bureau, he was api^ointed assist- 
ant commissioner of the Bureau in Alabama, and as- 
signed to duty in that State. He remained there for the 
three j-ears succeeding, diligently engaged in the duties 
of his office, taking various steps in favor of the educa- 
tion of the blacks and to provide them with sustenance 
until they should become self-supporting. He secured 
an order to devote certain confiscated war materials to 
their educatit)n, antl afterwards suggested and obtaineil 
an act of Congress tlevoting to the same purpose cer- 
tain real property which had been purchased by the 
Confederate authorities, and became the property of the 
United States. The first of these funds was emplo)-ed 
to establish an extensive system of temporary schools, 
while a number of more permanent educational institu- 
tions were founded with the second. General Swayne 
was also |)laced in command of the United States forces 
in Alabama, his rank being raised to that of major-gen- 
eral of \-olunteers. In 1866 he was given the command 
of one of the four regiments added to the regular army, 
and known as " The Veteran Reserve Corps," composed 
of disabled volunteer soldiers. 

In 1868, General Swayne's \iews differing radically 
from those of President Johnson, he w-as withdrawn from 
Alabama and assigned to duty in the War Department 
at Washington. Subsequently, at his own request, he 
was placed on the retired list of the arnn-, and resumed 
the practice of the law at Toletlo, Ohio. Here he 
quickly won a high legal reputation, and gained as 
clients such corporations as the American Union Tele- 
graph C<impany and the Wabash Railroad Company. 
A State law which was designed to tax national banks 
out of existence was successfulK' opposeil by him in the 
lower courts, and finally, in the Supreme Court of the 
United States, he securing a final decision in favor of the 
banks. 

In 1879 the growth of the telegraph and railroad 
clientage of General Swaj-ne necessitated his removal 
to New York City, and he has since then been engaged 
in practice there. He became partner with Judge John 
I'". Dillon in 1881, the firm becoming counsel for the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, the Missouri Pa- 
cific Raiiroail Compan)', and other great corporations. 
This partnership was dissolved in 1893. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



327 



WILLIAM H. SCHIEFFELIN. 

William Hi^nkv Schieffelin, the only son of Sam- 
uel B. Scliieffelin, the head of an old and prominent 
commercial house of New York, was born in that city, 
August 20, 1836. He is descended from a family which 
can be traced back through an honorable German ances- 
try to the thirteenth century, and whose first American 
representative came to this country in 1720. The mer- 
cantile house was founded more than a century ago by 
Jacob Schieffelin, as a wholesale drug business, and still 
continues to do a large and lucrati\c trade. 

The present Mr. Schieffelin was educated with a view 
of entering the firm, but he preceded his business career 
with a somewiiat adventurous experience. In i860 he 
became leader of a small exploring party which crossed 
the Rocky Mountains from Montana nearly in the track 
of the old Lewis and Clark expedition of the early part 
of the century. The party fell into the hands of a band 
of hostile Crow Indians, and escaped with their lives 
only through the good offices of a friend!)- chief He 
returned to New York in 1862, joined his regiment, the 
Seventh New York, of which he had been for five years a 
member, and went with it to the front. At Baltimore he 
left it to become major of the First New York Mounted 
Rifles, for which regiment he recruited four hundred men. 
For nearly a year afterwards he served with this regi- 
ment, under General Wool, near Suffolk, Virginia, and 
took part in the very numerous skirmishes and engage- 
ments in which tiie forces there were involved. 

While in service at the front he was a partner in his 
father's firm of Schieffelin Bros. & Co., and in Jul)', 1863, 
resigned his commission in the arm\' in response to the 
demands of business, coming to New York in time to 
do duty under General Wool in suppressing the draft 
riots of that year. Shortly after his return he was 
married to Mary Jay, great-granddaughter of Chief- 
Justice John Jay. In 1865 he became the head of the 
firm, and since that time has veiy actively devoted him- 
self to the promotion of its interests. 

Since 1854 this business has been located in an exten- 
sive structure at the corner of William and Bcekman 
Streets. In this building about two hundrei,l and fifty 
persons are emplo\-cd, and the annual business of the 
house amounts to millions of dollars. There is a sep- 
arate laborator\- building, still larsjer than the William 




Street warehouse, while large quantities of imported 
goods are stored in bonded warehouses and in a separate 
building for this purpose. An important part of the 
business of the firm is the introduction into American 
medical practice of the drugs produced by modern chem- 
ical synthesis, this manufacture being largely carried on 
in the laboratory building by the use of special apparatus 
and machinery, some of it in\ented for the purpose by 
the firm. 

After his return from the war Mr. Schieffelin joined 
the Union League Club, and continued a member of the 
Republican part\- until the candidac}' of Mr. Cleveland 
for the Presidenc)-, when he came to his support. In the 
Cleveland campaign of 1892 he served as chairman of 
the Drug Trade Cleveland and Stevenson Club. He is 
strongly in favor of reform in municipal politics, and 
was one of the charter members of the New York City 
Club, whose object is good city government. He is also 
a member of the Loyal Legion. In religious faith he is 
an Episcopalian, and is senior vestryman of St. George's 
Church. 

Mr. Schieffelin takes great pleasure in rural pursuits 
and out-door sport, being fond of farming, boating, and 
shooting. He was one of the first to import registered 
Jersey cattle to this country, bringing a herd to his farm 
at Katonah, New York, in 1870. He is president of the 
F'ishers Island Sportsmen's Club. 



328 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN MORGAN RICHARDS. 

Of John Mokcax Riciiauds uc lia\e yi\en on op- 
posite page some biograpliical information, in a sketch of 
the career of his brilliant daughter, Mrs. Craigie ("John 
Oliver Hobbs"). We may repeat in part here what was 
said there, that he is descended from an American family 
of Welsh origin, of whom some generations were soldiers 
in the wars of this country, while no less than four 
generations were in the Church. Mr. Richards's grand- 
father held the chair of Theology in the first theological 
seminar)' in New York, which was founded by him. Mr. 
Richards is nearly related to the distinguished family of 
the Fields, whose record in law anil tclcgra[)h)' luue 
made them famous in American annals. 

Mr. Richards was born in New Y<irk, and is to-day 
about fifty years of age. After his period of education 
he entered tlic New York drug house of Demas, Barnes 
& Co., in which he obtained a thorough knowledge of 
the business. In 1867 he went to London in the interest 
of a number of American drug houses, to act as their 
agent in that city. His success there has been phenome- 
nal. Beginning in a comparatively small way in 1867, he 
has develo[)ed his business until now it has become vast 
in extent, and has to-day few equals in the world. His 
great American factory supplies in profusion the chemical 
and medical specialties which his trade connections enable 
him to spread all over the world from his London centre 
of operations, his operations having become, in the words 
of a newspaper writer, " so extensive and amazingly suc- 
cessful that, in expanding the business, he included the 



products of other great houses, both in the States and 
from the Continent of Europe." 

The establishments now represented b)' Mr. Richards's 
house as agent include The Pharmacal Association of 
New York ; Messrs. Hall & Ruckel, New York ; Messrs. 
P. H. Drake & Co., New York; the Carter Medicine 
Company, jiroprietors of " Carter's Little Liver Pills," 
New York; the Hinirod Manufacturing Company (" Him- 
.rod's Asthma Cure"), New York ; the Holman Pad 
Company, New York ; Mr. Clarence M. Roof, New York ; 
Mr. B. T. Hoagland, New York; the Centaur Company, 
New York ; Dr. J. B. Osborne (" Osborne's Insufflator"). 
New York ; the Caulocorea Manufacturing Company, 
South Portland, Maine ; Messrs. Perry Da\is & Son, 
of " Pain Killer" celebrity, Provitlcnce. Rhode Island ; 
Messrs. lili Lilly & Co., Indianapolis. Indiana ; the Dr. 
Williams's Medicine Company ; M. L. Gcckelaer's toilet 
requisites and perfumer)', Brus.sels ; M. Ch. Delacre's 
Cocoa and K.\tract of Beef, Brussels; and Ilcrr J. D. 
Stiefel's Medicated Soaps, Offenbach-am-Maine. 

The premises in which this great variety of goods is 
handled, No. 46 Holborn Viaduct, K. C, are very exten- 
sive and handsomcl)' appointed in the form of a great 
counting-house, with private offices attached, and every 
facility for the rapid transaction of the vast wholesale 
business clone. The trade of the house extends to every 
part of the United Kingdom, India, and the Colonies, 
and the general characteristics of the establishment, the 
valuable and cxtensi\e connections it maintains, and the 
high principles and commendable methods upon which 
its business has always been conducted, combine to rentier 
it peculiarl)- worth)' of note among the great representa- 
tive mercantile institutions of London. 

Mr. Richards is a gentleman of fine culture and quiet 
and dignified demeanor, remarkabi)' different from the 
ordinary pushing man of business, and from the type of 
American so often falsely taken as the just example of 
our countrymen in lun'ope. His castle-like mansion 
near Hyde Park is a centre of Ia\'ish hospital it)', the 
dinner-parties of the house sometimes embracing forty 
or fifty guests, who represent every section of London's 
celebrities, literar)-, journalistic, artistic, and occasionally 
theological. Oser these Mrs. Richards, a lady of the 
truest type of American hospitalit)', and her ilistinguished 
daughter, Mrs. Craigie, preside, and the home of the 
Richanls counts among its guests every t)'i)e of celebrity, 
from the members of the royal family downward. In 
addition to his hospitality Mr. Richanls is genuinel)' 
charitable, his benevolence being warm but unostiiita- 
tious. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



329 



"JOHN OLIVER HOBBS" (MRS. CRAIGIE). 

John Oliver Hobbs, if we may properly head this 
sketch by a nom dc plume under which alone its subject 
is known to tlie worhl outside her lionie precincts, is in 
reality Mrs. Craigie, a young aspirant to literary honors 
who has sprung to sudden eminence in the world of 
letters. She is English by birth, but of distinctly New 
York origin, her father, John Morgan Richards, being an 
example of the most creditable type of the cultured and 
refined American gentleman, while her mother, Mrs. 
Richards, of Quaker parentage, is still more typically 
American, in her restless Western enthusiasm of tem- 
perament and warmth and earnestness of disposition. 

Mr. Richards is of Welsh descent, but his family 
settled generations ago in America, where, in warlike 
days, they played the patriotic part of soldiers, and in 
quieter times went into the Church, in which no fewer 
than four generations of the famil}- made their mark. 
One of them, the grandfather of Mr. Richards, founded 
the first theological seminary in New York City, and 
held the professorship of Theology in this institution up 
to the time of his death. Among his American cousins 
may be named a famih" that has become illustrious in 
New York life, that of the Fields, including Judge Field, 
of the Supreme Court, Da\'id Dudley Field, the emi- 
nent jurist, and Cyrus W. Field, of Atlantic cable enter- 
prise. 

In their London home, in which they now reside, the 
Richards have shown a la\'ish hospitality, their guests 
including numbers of London celebrities, especially those 
of literary fame, while Mrs. Richards, having the free- 
dom from caste restrictions of an American, has been 
admitted not only to friendly acquaintance but to cordial 
intimacy with several members of the ro^-al famil}-. 

It was within such surroundings as these that Mrs. 
Craigie has been reared. She is still quite young, and 
is instinct with the warm imagination and something of 
the devotional spirit of her mother, the quiet demeanor 
of her father, and a keen wit which perhaps she owes 
to him. She is slight of person, and singularly frail in 
bearing and impression. The family are of Protestant 
faith, but the daughter a few years ago became a mem- 
ber of the Roman Catholic Church. She was married 
while little more than a girl, and much of the glamour 
of youth still clings around her. 

The person thus briefly described is scarcely the one 
whom one would expect to become a popular novelist, 
and especiall}- to take the saddened and almost c\-nical 
view of life which is to be found in her works, she having 




been during her whole life surrounded with lu.xur\- and 
in sympathetic relations with the kindest and most appre- 
ciative of parents. She is, however, deeply cultured in 
studies that girls rarely take up voluntarih-. For two 
years she studied classics and philosophy with Professor 
Alfred Goodwin, at University College, London, and for 
years has had private tutors in every subject which she 
wished to take up, while her reading has been of the 
most serious and profound kind. 

Mrs. Craigie has not been long before the public as an 
author. Her first work, a novel entitled " Some Emo- 
tions and a Moral," was completed in January, 1 891, and 
publislied in September of that \-ear. The success of 
this little book was almost startling. It sprang at once 
into fame, set everybody to reading it, and wondering 
who John 01i\x-r Hobbs could be, none imagining that 
this skilled and able writer could be the \-oung lady we 
have described. Since then she has written three stories, 
" The Sinner's Corned)'," " A Study in Temptations," and 
a serial for the Pall Mall Budget entitled " The Gods, 
Some Mortals, and Lord Wickenham," all of which have 
been very well received. In addition she is the author of 
a charming little play, " Journeys End in Lo\crs Meet- 
ing," the plot from the French but the language her own, 
which is full of delicate satire, quick observation, and 
dramatic point. It was produced at Daly's Theatre, 
London, with striking success, Ellen Terry taking the 
leading part. Mrs. Craigie has fine dramatic ability, and 
ma}' }'et make her mark in the dramatic as she has in 
the novelistic field. 



330 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




ROBERT A. CHESEBROUGH. 

RoiiERT A. CiiESEBROuc.il, a Ncw York nKimifacluici- 
and inventor, was born in London, En<rland, of Ameri- 
can parents, January 9, 1837. His father, Henry A. 
Chesebrouyh, was a leading dry-goods mcrcliant in 
New York, and his grandfather was founder and presi- 
dent of the I'uiton Bank. On liis mother's side he is 
descended from the Maxwells of Scotland, earls of 
Nithsdalc and barons of Herries. William Maxwell, his 
great-grandfather, was founder anil president of the Bank 
of Ncw York, and James Homer Maxwell, his grand- 
father, married Catharine Van Zandt, who had the honor 
of opening the first inauguration ball as the partner of 
President Washington. His mother was a grandniece 
of General W'ondluiU, who was killed at the battle of 
Long Island in the Revolutionary War. 

Mr. Chesebrough was educated in the best schools of 
Ncw York City, and after his graduation in a collegiate 
course he took up chemistry as a special study, w ith the 
design of making himself an adept in that branch of 
practical science. His course in chemistr)- was followed 
by two years of travel in luiropc, in which he took every 
opportunity to perfect himself by observation and study 
of foreign methods in liis chosen science. On his return 
to the United States in 1S5.S, he established himself in 
Ncw York City as a manufacturer of petroK urn and coal- 
oil products, a line of business in which he was one of the 
first to embark. His success in this business was steady 
and encouraging, and was greatly added to after 1870, 
in which year he discovered the wiileK' known product 
called vaseline. The existing Chesebrough Manufac- 
turing Company was organized by him in 1876. It has 
since then greatly developed, and now has branch estab- 
lishments in London, Paris, Berlin, and Montreal. 

Mr. Chesebrough is a large holder of real estate in 



and around New York. He was the originator of the 
New York Real-Estate E.xchange, and has served as 
vice-president and one of the building committee of the 
Consolidated Stock Exchange. In 1881 he built the 
great Chesebrough office building in lower New York, 
facing the Batter\-. This immense structure was erected 
under his immediate sui)er\'ision, and its ingenious appli- 
ances for heating and ventilation, in\ented b_\' him, have 
attracted much attention from architects and builders. 

Aside from his business relations, Mr. Chesebrough 
has taken an acti\e and intelligent interest in public 
affairs. The conversion of Castle Garden by the State 
into an immigrant station was from the first \igorously 
opposed by him, anil it is due to his continued protests 
against its use for this purpose that the national govern- 
ment has recently consented to take charge of the de- 
partment of immigration and remove the station to lillis 
Island. In 1S78, on the occasion of the Paris Uni\ersal 
Exposition, the State Department ha\ing taken no action 
towards making a government exhibit, Mr. Chesebrough 
called a meeting of intending exhibitors in New York, 
and obtained permission from Duke Descazes, of the 
French cabinet, to exhibit as Americans without await- 
ing action by the government. This decided mo\ement 
roused the De])artment of State to action, the y\meiican 
exhibit was placed under its fostering care, ami the result 
was an adequate dispki)- of American industries. 

Mr. Chesebrough was married in 1864 to Miss Mar- 
garet McCred)', who died on April 3, 1887, leaving three 
sons and one daughter. He has a city residence at No. 
17 East Forty-fifth Street, and until recently resided in 
summer at Leggett's Point, in the .innexed district. His 
propert)' there has been sold to an I'.nglish syndicate fir 
improvement purposes. 

Mr. Chesebrough is a member of the New York 
Riding, the Manhattan Athletic, the l^xchange, the 
Union League, anil a number of other clubs ami s<icie- 
tics. In 1890 he was president of the Down-town Re- 
publican Club. He is also a member of se\'eral chari- 
table societies, which have hail the advantage of his 
directive powers and have benefited b)' his donations. 
He has besides an interesting literary side, being not 
onl)' a cultured reader but a protlucer of poetry, his pub- 
lished work, " A Reverie, and Other Poems," having bei'U 
very favorabi)- received by the fraternity of critics, lb 
has presented to the Senate chamiier t\\ o large oil-paint- 
ings, the father and mother of the wife of William Max- 
well, in which are pierceil holes made by the bayonets 
of British soldiers during their occupancj- of the Maxwell 
residence in Wall Street. Mr. Chesebrough was the 
Republican candidate for Congress in the twelfth district 
of New York in November, 1894, being defeated by 
thirteen hundreil votes, as against ten thousand majority 
for the Democratic candidate in the [neceding election. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



331 



GEORGE W. VAN SICLEN. 

Gkorgk West Van Sici.en, born August 13, 1840, nt 
Hudson, New York, is a descendant of Ferdinand Van 
Siclcn, who came from Holland to this country and 
settled at Gravesend, Long Island, before 1642. The 
family had long been one of importance in the Nether- 
lands, and the old mansion of the Van Siclens is to-day 
one of the show places of the city of Ghent. 

Mr. Van Siclen received his early education at Hud- 
son, and afterwards studied in the public schools of New 
York Git)'. He then entered the College of the City of 
New York, after graduating from which he studied law 
in the Columbia College Law School. Since his admis- 
sion to the bar he has been continuousK' and success- 
full\' in legal practice in New York, his attention being 
largely, though not exclusively, given to real-estate prac- 
tice. He is the author of the " Hand-book for Sellers 
and Buyers of Real Estate," a work accepted by the 
bench as the best authority on the subject ; ami is the 
law editor of the Real Estate Record and Guide. 

Mr. Van Siclen performed a very useful service to real- 
estate bu\-ers and sellers in establishing the Title Guar- 
antee and Trust Company of New York, whose effect 
has been to reduce the expenses of the purchase of real 
estate, while guaranteeing the \alidit\' of titles. He 
also, in association with Mr. J. M. Mason, of West Vir- 
ginia, organized the Public Debt Adjustment Company, 
and brought together the committee which has made a 
successful re-adjustment of the Virginia State debt. He 
is now engaged in writing a " Real-Estate Code of the 
State of New York," which he proposes to dedicate to 
David Dudley Field. 

The Holland Society of New York, composed of the 
tlescendants of the Dutch immigrants to New Nether- 
lands, owes its first proposal to him, the suggestion 
coming to him during a trial in 1S80, in which lawyers 
and judges of Dutch descent took part. The objects of 
this society are to perpetuate the memory and foster and 
promote the principles and virtues of the original Dutch 
settlers of New York, to collect and preserve historical 
information relating to the Dutch in America, and to 
promote social intercourse among the members. To be 
eligible one must be descended in a direct male line from 
a Dutchman, or Dutch-speaking refugee in Holland, resi- 
dent in the American colonies before 1675. Mr. Van 
Siclen visited the Netherlands and Belgium in 1888 as an 
official representative of the societ}', and was received 
there with much honor and respect, as is recorded in 
the Year-Book of the society for 1888-89. He is a trus- 
tee of the Holland Society, and was its secretary from 
1886 to 1890. 

Mr. Van Siclen is the only honorary member of the 




" 3. October Vereeniging," of the cit\- of Leyden, a 
society formed to commemorate the striking historical 
event of the relief of that old city from the Spanish 
besiegers in 1 574, when Admiral Boisot cut the dikes and 
sailed on the inflowing ocean waves to the city's relief 
He is also an honorary member of the " Zeenwsche 
Genootschap der Wetenschappen," of Middleberg, Hol- 
land, the literary and historical society of Zealand, and 
of the Society of Netherlands Literature, of Leyden ; this 
last honor being conferred for his translation into Dutch 
of Carnegie's " Triumphant Democracy." Of the asso- 
ciations of his own country he belongs to the New York 
Historical Society, the New York Genealogical and Bio- 
graphical Societ}-, the American Geographical Society, 
and the American Historical Society. 

Mr. Van Siclen has been active in literar\- labor, and is 
now engaged on a historical work of much importance, 
" The Lifluence of Holland upon the Constitution and 
Development of the United States." He is the author 
of a number of interesting translations into English, in- 
cluding the " Asegabuch," a collection of laws composed 
about 1200 A.u. in the Frisian dialect; the " Ensiger 
Land Laws," the property statutes of East Friesland, 
written 1 3 12 A.D., and Dr. Edward Jacob's "Life of 
Juliana von Stolberg," the mother of William the Silent, 
— translated from the German. He is an enthusiastic 
angler, and has fre(|uently contributeil on this subject to 
Forest and Stream, while he has edited an American 
edition of Wynkyn de Worde's '* Treatyse of Fysshynge 
w\th an Angle from the Boke of St. Alban's by Dame 
Juliana 'Berners" (1496). He was married in 1862 to 
Sarah J. Gregory, daughter of John Gregory, a large 
property-holder in the old Chelsea quarter of New 
York. 



33^ 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




CHARLES A. SCHIHREN. 

Charles \. Schiekkn is a native of Gcnnaii)', in 
which country lie was born February 28, 1842, in the 
province of Rliein-Hcsscn. He came to this country in 
1856, wlicn fourteen years of age, with his parents, hmd- 
ing in Brooklyn. Mr. Schieren had obtained the excel- 
lent general education given in the common schools of 
Germany, and was not long in this countr\- before he was 
a master of English speech. His father had started the 
cigar business, in which the son became engaged for a 
number of years, but in 1S64 he withdrew from this busi- 
ness and entered that of tiie leather-belting manufacture, 
obtaining a position in the establishment of Philip F. Pass- 
quay, New York. Here he quickly gained full acquaint- 
ance with the details of the business, by dint of close 
application and intelligent industry, the result being that, 
on the death of his employer in the following year, he 
was able to assume the management of the whole estab- 
lishment. 

The business was sold, but he continued with the new 
firm until 1868, when, having .saved a small amount of 
capital, he started business on his own account in the 
leather-belting manufacture. His energy, industry, and 
.spirit of enterprise now told, the newly established busi- 
ness growing witii great ra[)idity, its success being so 
great that in a comparatively short period he had under 
his control what iiad become one of the leading leather- 
belting houses in America. The present firm, that of 
Charles A. Schieren & Co., was founded in 1882. Its 
business has expanded enormously, and it has now agen- 
cies in the leading cities of llie United States and elsc- 



! where in America, and also in a number of the principal 
I'Airopcan cities, the belting manufactured in the factories 
of the firm being in use in all parts of the world. 

Mr. Schieren has not alone shown remarkable enter- 
prise as a merchant, but as a manufacturer has been 
quick to take advantage of every improvement in belt- 
ing, while himself producing some important inventions. 
The recent great development in the use of electricity 
as a motor and light-giving agent has been utili/.cd b)- 
him in the de\-elopment of his products. For use in 
electrical machinerj- he invented an " electric belt," in 
which a coating of composition was spread over the 
belt to preserve the leather. This was followed by his 
"American joint leather link belt," in which small links 
of leather are strung on steel pins and joined together 
in an ingenious manner. This he followed b\' the [iro- 
duction of an ingenious perforated electric belt, to pre- 
vent the formation of air-cushions. The three inventions 
heie named proved of the utmost atlvantage in the use 
of swift-running electrical machinery, and brought him 
into a leading position in the belting trade. His thorough 
grasp of the business is shown in several papers written 
by him on the subject, entitled " The Use and Abuse of 
Belting," "Transmission of Power by Belt," "History 
of Leather Belting," ant! " l-'rom tile Taimerj' to the 
Dynamo," these papers haxiiig been reail ami discusseil 
before the National Flectric Light Association and the 
Technical Society of New York. The Hide and Leather 
National Bank, in which Mr. Schieren is \ice-president, 
was organized tii rough his personal efforts. 

Mr. Schieren has taken part in ever)- important reform 
movement in the city of his adoption, and is particu- 
larly active in matters pertaining to the interests of the 
Lutheran Church in America, in most of whose public 
movements he has taken a prominent part. Thus he 
was actively concerned in the erection of the beautiful 
bronze statue of Martin Luther, at Washington, District 
of Columbia, while the new Lutheran college buildings 
at Gettysburg, Penn.sylvania (the Pennsylvania College), 
owes much to his earnest interest and encouragement. 
I le has for many years serveil as a trustee of the Young 
Men's Christian A.ssociation and of the Sunday-School 
Union in Brookl)-n, and also as a director in the Union 
for Christian Work, and in the Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Children. He was a member of the com- 
mittee appointed for the erection of a statue of ILiiiy 
Ward Beecher, and of that of J. S. T. Stranahan, and 
also of the connnittee ap])ointed for the erection of a 
new building for the N'mmg Women's Christian Associa- 
tion. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



333 



EDMUND C. STEDMAN. 

Edmund Clarenxe Stedman, poet and critical writer, 
was born at Hartford, Connecticut, October 8, 1833, 
being the son of Edmund Stedman, a merchant of Hart- 
ford, and the poetess, Elizabetli C. Dodge, tlirough whom 
he is related to William Ellcry Ciianning and to l-5ishop 
Arthur Cleveland Coxe, and is a descendant of Rev. 
Aaron Cleveland, a poet of colonial days. 

Mr. Stedman's father died before he was two years of 
age, and while still quite young he was sent to his great- 
uncle, James. Stedman, at Norwich, Connecticut, to be 
educated. He entered Yale College in his sixteenth year, 
and distinguished himself there in Greek and English 
composition, while in 1851 he received the first prize for 
a poem on Westminster Abbey, which was published in 
the Ya/c Literary Maga::iuc. He was prevented from 
graduation on account of some breach of discipline, but 
in 1 87 1 the Universitj' corrected this omission by restor- 
ing him to his class and conferring upon him the degree 
of A.M. 

Mr. Stedman afterwards studied privately at North- 
ampton, Massachusetts, and at nineteen years of age 
became the editor of the Nonvich Tribune, and two years 
later of the Wins ted Herald. In 1856 he went to New 
York, where he contributed to Vanity Fair, Putnam's 
Monthly, Harper's Magazine, and the New York World 
and Tribune. He had, nevertheless, some struggle with 
povert}-, which continued until he attracted strong public 
attention by his poem of " The Diamond Wedding," a 
satire, " The Ballad of Lager Beer," and " How Old John 
Brown took Harper's Ferry," the notoriety of which 
brought him an engagement upon the Tribune, while 
his poems were published in i860 in a volume entitled 
" Poems, Lyrical and Idyllic." 

During the first two years of the war he served as 
Washington correspondent for the World, part of his time 
being spent at the head-quarters of Generals McDowell 
and McClellan. Failing health obliged him to accept a 
position in the office of Attorney-General l?ates, which 
he resigned in 1864 and returned to New York. Here, 
becoming dissatisfied with the hast}' and unpolished pro- 
ductions of journalism, he resolved to engage in mercan- 
tile business, that he might ha\ e the leisure to produce 
finished compositions. He accordingly purchased a seat 
in the New York Stock Exchange and became a broker. 

During the years of his successful business life Mr. 
Stedman continued to produce literary work of a high 
grade, publishing at intervals " Alice of Monmouth : an 
Idyl of the Late War, and Other Poems," " The Blame- 
less Prince, and Other Poems," and in 1873 a collecti\-e 
edition of his " Poetical Works," containing his well- 
known " Pan in Wall Street," " Toujours Amour," " The 
Doorstep," etc. More recently Mr. Stedman has devoted 




his time largely to literary criticism, producing articles 
on Tennyson, Theocritus, and the Victorian poets, which 
led directly to his admirable critical volumes, "Victorian 
Poets" and " Poets of America," the taste and judgment 
displayed in which excited wide-spread attention. In 
1 888 he took part in editing " The Library of American 
Literature," in eleven folio volumes, which has had a 
\ery large sale. In 1889 he gave at Johns Hopkins 
Universit)' a course of lectures on the " Nature and Ele- 
ments of Poetrj'," which has since been repeated in other 
institutions of learning, and published in book form. Of 
his other publications we may name " Rip Van Winkle 
and his Wonderful Nap," " Octavius Brooks Froth- 
ingham and the New Faith," " Hawthorne, and Other 
Poems," " The Raven, with Comments on the Poem," a 
" Household Edition" of his poems, and other works. 
He is said to have been long engaged on a translation of 
Theocritus in English hexameters, of whose excellence 
great expectations are entertained. 

Mr. Stedman was vice-president under Mr. Lowell of 
the American Copyright League, and afterwards its pres- 
ident. The passage by Congress of the Copyright Law 
was largely due to his efforts. He is still engaged in 
business, but is wealthy, and contemplates withdrawing 
from business life and devoting himself solely to literary 
production. He has already gained a position in the 
front rank of balladists and poetical critics, and much 
good work may yet be hoped from him, he being still 
full of activity and literary industry. His home is fixed 
in New York, where he is a member of many literary 
and social organizations, and where he is regarded as 
one of the chief li\ing exponents <^ American poetry, 
being, since the death of James Russell Lowell, perhaps 
the most prominent man in American letters. 



43 



334 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




BENJAMIN FLINT. 

Bkniamin I'"lint, a notable ship-owner, was born in 
D.miariscotta, Maine, December 13, 1813, the son of 
Robert Chapman, a lumberman and ship-builder of that 
town. His mother, Lucinda Flint, was a daughter of 
Dr. Thomas Flint, a surgeon of the Revolution, who 
was captured while serving on a privateer and carried 
prisoner to Fngland. Others of the Flint family attained 
much reputation as physicians and surgeons. The boy 
was adopted by his uncle, Benjamin Flint, a captain in 
tile War of 1 8 1 2. In 1 835, on reaching the age of twenty- 
two, he dro[)ped his name of Chapman, and by act of the 
Maine Legislature adojited his uncle's name, being thence- 
forth known as Benjamin I*'lint. 

Me was educated in the common schools of Dam- 
ariscotta, ac(|uired a business knowledge, and in 1840 
joined with liis brother, Isaac F. Chapman, in conducting 
a store of general merchandise in that [)lace. Under the 
firm-title of Chajjman & I'lint they in 1841 entered into 
their father's line of business, building the " Alabama," a 
two-hundrcd-and-cigiity-ton barque. Soon afterwards 
they removed to Thomaston, Maine, where they estab- 
lished a ship-yard on the Georges Ri\er, and built there 
a large fleet of vessels, of which they remained the 
<jwners and managers. In 18^)8 their ship-yard was re- 
moved to Bath, Maine, where their building interest 
continued extensive. 

The two brothers removed to Brookljn in 1S58, mak- 
ing that city their place of residence, and opening their 
shipping-office in New York, that they might avail them- 
selves of the commercial advantages tliere offered for the 



profitable handling of their shipping interests. In 1873, 
James F. Chapman, a younger brother, who had served 
as captain of some of their largest vessels, established 
himself in San Francisco as a manager of their business 
at that port, and an associate with them in the ownership 
of vessels. 

During the continuance of the partnership of Chap- 
man & Flint the brothers kept no separate expense ac- 
counts, but drew what money each needed for personal 
use, living in closely the same manner, so that on their 
dissolution of partnership each had the same amount of 
money to his credit. Their houses in Thomaston were 
precisely alike, and the same was the case with their 
Brooklyn residences. In 1865 they built a block of 
houses forming one side of Montague Terrace, Brooklyn, 
of which Mr. Chapman took the house at one end of the 
block as his residence aiul Mr. I'lint that at the other 
end. These houses are still occupied l)y the sur\i\ing 
members of the two families. 

The firm was dissolved in 1880, in the interest of the 
sons of the two proprietors. Mr. Flint continued to do 
business in his own name till 1886, when he associated 
with him his two sons, Charles R. and Wallace B. Flint, 
under the firm-name of I-lint & Co., organizing a ship- 
ping and commission business, with its office at 86 Wall 
Street. This firm became e.xtensively engaged in ship- 
ping business with seaports in all parts of the world, its 
e.Kport and imiiort trade being large with most mercantile 
nations, but particularly with Mexico, the West Indies, 
and the Central and South American countries. 

Of Mr. Flint personally it may be said that he was a 
man of the highest integrity, of modest and reserved 
manner, but of strong will and persistent energ\-. l-'rom 
boyhood he took a strong interest in ship-building, ami 
early became an expert in the construction and manage- 
ment of vessels. He was unusually well \ersetl in the 
facilities, charges, antl character of the ports of the worlil, 
in winds, currents, and other influences affecting commer- 
cial navigation, and this knowledge, combined with a 
sound judgment, served him well in deciding upon the 
most advisable movements in ocean traffic. He seemed 
to know men instinctively, and during more than half a 
century never suffered from a dishonest captain, while he 
had the good fortune never to lose a sliip or have a 
serious accident. His first captain, Charles G. Raiilett, 
continueil his unbroken frieiul for sixtj' j'ears. 

Mr. Flint died June 28, 1891. After dinner <>n that 
da\' he made an entry on the last ])age of a book in 
which he had kept a daily memorandum for seven years, 
and on closing it remarked, " My diary is finished." A 
few hours afterwards he ilietl of heart-failure. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



335 



CHARLES R. FLINT. j 

Chakles Raxlett Flint, son of Benjamin Flint, the ! 
ship-owner whose biograpln^ we ha\'e given, was born at 
Thoniaston, Maine, January 24, 1850. He was educated 
in the public schools of that place, and afterwards in 
those of Brooklyn, after his father's removal to that city, 
and at a private school at Topsham, Maine. His edu- 
cation was completed in the Polytechnic Institute of 
Brooklyn, from which he graduated in 1868. On gradu- 
ating he was elected president of his class and of the 
Alumni. 

Mr. Flint's first knowledge of business was gained as 
a dock clerk. In 1869 he became the confidential clerk 
of \V. R. Grace, and in 1871 organized the firm of Gil- 
christ, Flint & Co., ship-chandlers. In 1872 he joined 
w ith Mr. Grace, his former employer, in organizing the 
firm of W. R. Grace & Co., their business being that of 
a shipping and commission trade with the countries of 
the Pacific coast of South America, especially Peru. In 
1876 he organized tlie firm of Grace, Brothers & Co., of 
Callao, Peru. On his return to New York at the end of 
that year, he was appointed by the republic of Chile its 
consul in this city, which office he held until 1879, being 
in 1878, during the absence of the charge d'affaires, 
placed in charge of the archives and correspondence of 
the Chilean legation. He resigned the consulate in April, 
1879, o'^ ^^^^ declaration of war by Chile against Peru, 
on account of the relation of his firm to Peru as financial 
agents of that country. This resignation was cabled to 
Chile, and the affairs of the consulate placed in charge 
of a Chilean official then residing in New York. 

Mr. Flint's business relations subsequently became 
much broadened. In 1880 he was elected president of 
the United States Electric Lighting Compan)-, and in 
18S4 visited Brazil, where he established a large rubber 
business on the Amazon River. Upon his return lie was 
appointed consul for Nicaragua in New York, and rep- 
resented that republic in negotiating with the parties who 
had received the concession for constructing the Nica- 
ragua Canal. In 1885 he became a member of the firm 
of Flint & Co., composed of his father, himself, and his 
brother, Wallace B. Flint, and with the shipping busi- 
ness of this firm united the rubber, lumber, and com- 
mission business which he had previously developed. 
He is now the senior member of this firm, which is 
largely engaged in the importation of wool, hides, and 
skins from the Argentine Confederation and Uruguay 
and the exportation of American manufactures. 

Mr. Flint's business method has been to associate 
himself with experts in some particular branch of busi- 
ness. In 1878 he organized the PL.xport Lumber Com- 




pany, which now has yards in New York, Boston, Port- 
land, Montreal, Ottawa, and in the State of Michigan, 
and has handled over two hundred million feet of lumber 
in one year. In iSSi he formed a combination of the 
leading dealers in crude rubber, and in 1886 organized 
the New York Commercial Compan\', the largest dealer 
in this material in the world. The business of manufac- 
turing rubber shoes and boots was similarly consolidated 
by him, the result being the organization of the United 
States Rubber Company, of New Jersey, its capital being 
;^40,000,000. He is the treasurer of this company. The 
producers of mechanical rubber goods were similarl)- 
combined by him in an organization known as the Me- 
chanical Rubber Compan}-. with a capital of Si5,CX30,000, 
in which he is a director and chairman of the finance 
committee. He is connected also with several banks, 
trust, railroad, and steamship companies, and is at present 
consul-general of Costa Rica in the United States. 

In 1889-90 Mr. Mint served as a delegate to the In- 
ternational American Conference, at Washington, and 
susfcrested the idea of establishing an International 
American Bank, and also proposed the organization of 
the existing Bureau of American Republics. As confi- 
dential agent of the Depa:rtment of State he negotiated 
with Brazil the first rcciprocit}- treaty under the Aldrich 
amendment, and during the Da Gama rebellion in Brazil 
was the agent of President Pie.xoto in the purchase of 
vessels and war material. With all these multifarious 
engagements, Mr. Flint has foimd time to engage much 
in angling and shooting, of which he is an ardent devo- 
tee, and formerly gave much attention to.j-achting, being 
a member of various yacht clubs. 



336 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



HOWARD LOCKWOOD. 

Howard Lockwood, founder of the Lockwood Press, 
wliich is prominent amonc; tiie printin<j and ])iiljlisliin_i^ 
enterprises of New York City, was born at While Plains, 
Westchester County, New York, March 9, 1846. He 
was the son of General Munson I. Lockwood, for many 
years of social and political prominence, and is a lineal 
descendant of Robert Lockwood, who came from luig- 
land to this countrj- in 1630, settling at Watertown, 
Massachusetts. The Lockwood family was particularly 
active in the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars of the 
country, twenty-three members of the family taking part 
in the Colonial contests, while in the Revolutionary War 
the large contingent of one hundred and fifty-six de- 
scendants of Robert Lockwood are said to ha\'e taken 
part. The Lockwood house at White Plains, New York, 
stood on the plain that was occupied by Washington's 
defensive earthworks, and an old mortar abandoned by 
the Americans in their retreat is said to still remain near 
the mansion. Lieutenant Simon IngersoU, great-grand- 
father of the subject of our sketch, was killed in the 
battle at this place. Washington occupied as his head- 
quarters a building about a mile from the Lockwood 
mansion, and here is kept a hamlsomely bound register, 
the gift of General Munson I. Lockwood. Mr. Lock- 
wood's mother was a descendant of Nicholas Dela[)laine, 
a distinguished Huguenot, who emigrated to tiiis cnuiitr) 
during the eighteenth century. 

Mr. Lockwood received a good education, and after 
completing his school life he removed to New York City, 
where, in 1865, he became employed in a paper ware- 
hou.se on Duane Street. Here, by intelligent industry 
and clo.se attention to the details of the business, he 
quickly acquired a thorough acquaintance with the paper 
trade, and became fully fimiliar with the processes of 
paper manufacture and with its possibilities of develop- 
ment. His intelligent study of the situation convinced 
him that the pajier trade, like man}- other branches of 
manufacture, could be much advanced by the influence 
of a newspaper devoteil to its interests, and in accordance 
with this view he founded in 1872 the Papir Tradi: Journal. 



Tiiis paper soon gained a profitable circulation, and led 
to further enterprise on the part of its energetic publisher, 
and from it has grown the large business known as the 
Lockwood Press, which has attained a high standing 
among the publishing concerns of New York. The 
I establishment of the Paper Trade Jotiriia/ was but the 
] beginning of Mr. Lockwood's enterprises in this direc- 



tion. I-Vom it as a foundation have since grown 



up 



se\-eral other successful newspapers, representing various 
interests connected with the printing and publishing 
business. These include Tlie Atiicricaii Stationer, The 
American Mail and Export Journal, and The American 
Bookmaker. To these must be added " Lockwood's 
Directory of the Paper and Stationery Trades," which 
has long been a slandaid piihlic.ition, and one of much 
utilit}' in the department of industr)' which it repre- 
sents. 

Aside from his business connection with the printing 
and publishing business, Mr. Lockwood represented it in 
its social and commercial aspect, being a prominent and 
active member of the Society of the Typotheta.' of New- 
York, as whose representative he was present at the 
meeting of typothetical societies at Chicago in 18S7. 
The result of this meeting was the consoliilation of the 
various societies into the organization since known as 
the United Tv]iotheta-. Mr. Lockwood was especially 
active in the formation of this national society, and was 
appointed to draft its constitution, whicli he satisfactoril)' 
l)erformed. On the organization of the union, he was 
made a member of its executive committee and elected 
chairman of the committee. To this position he was 
twice afterwards elected, and ])erf)rmed its duties in a 
manner that proved much to the advantage of the asso- 
ciation, whose success is largely due to his efforts. 

Mr. Lockwood was also a member of a number of the 
social and other organizations of New York Cit\', these 
including the Chamber of Commerce, the Huguenot and 
New England Societies, the Sons t)f the Revolution, and 
the Union League, Lotos, Manhattan, Grolier, and Akiine 
Clubs. He was married in 1882 to Carrie B. Dove, a 
granddaughter of the late Bowles Colgate. He died in 
. New N'ork, November 4, 1S92. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



337 



GENERAL ALEXANDER S. WEBB. 

Alexander Stewart Webb, an eminent soldier in the 
civil war, was born in New York City, Februar\- 15, 
1835, a son of General James Watson Webb. He re- 
ceived his education in the public schools of the city, 
and was subsequently entered as a cadet at the West 
Point Military Academy, where he graduated in 1855. 
Receiving the commission of second lieutenant in the 
Second Artillery, he served during the years from 1855 
to 1857 in the Florida campaign and on frontier duty in 
Minnesota, and was appointed in 1857 assistant professor 
of Mathematics at West Point. He remained in this 
position till 1861, when the outbreak of the war called 
him to acti\'e duties in the field. Forming, in February, 
1 861, a new battery from among the soldiers at West 
Point, lie accompanied it to Washington, where he was 
detailed to guard General Scott's head-quarters with 
soldiers in citizens' clothes, the old soldier refusing a 
military guard. 

Lieutenant Webb was next sent to Fort Pickens, 
Florida, then in a state of siege, with light battery A, 
but retuined in time to take part in the first battle of 
Bull Run, where he remained at Centreville to cover the 
retreat of the defeated arm\-. He was subsequently 
rapidl\- ad\anced in grade, becoming assistant chief of 
artillery of the Arm\-of the Potomac; then major of the 
F"irst Rhode Island X'olunteers (a regiment which he 
never joined); subsequently assistant inspector-general, 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel ; and shortly after- 
wards chief of staff of the Fifth Arm\- Cori)s, — on 
General McClellan's special recommendation. 

During the summer of 1862 he ser\ed with the Army 
of the Potomac, and in November of that \ear was as- 
signed to duty at Camp Barry, Washington, as inspector 
of artiUer}-. He returned to duty in the field in the fol- 
lowing Januar}-, serving as assistant inspector-general of 
the Fifth Corps until June 29, when he was promoted 
brigadier-general of volunteers, and jilaced in command 
of the -Second Brigade, Second Di\'ision of the Second 
Arnij- Corps. He led this brigade in the battle of Gettys- 
burg, where he was conspicuous for bravery and military 
skill in the repulse of the famous Pickett's charge, and 
was wounded at the head of his men. General Meade 
presented him a bronze medal for " distinguished personal 
gallantry on that ever-memorable field," and he received 
the brevet rank of major in the regular army as a gov- 
ernmental reward for the same. 

General Webb commanded the Second Division, 
Second Corps, for a year, receiving the attack of the 
whole of Hill's corps at Bristow Station, during the 
Rapidan campaign, and capturing six gims and more 
than two thousand prisoners. For this ser\ice he was 
brevetted lieutenant-colonel. He was in the battles of 
the \\'ilderness and Spottsj-lvania, in the last of which 




he was severeU' wounded, and was placetl on the disabled 
list for the remainder of the year. For his gallant ser- 
vice he was brevetted colonel in the regular army, and on 
August I, 1864, received the brevet rank of major-general 
of volunteers for his distinguished conduct from Gettys- 
burg to Spottsylvania. 

General Webb rejoinetl the aini_\- on Januar\- 1 I, 1865, 
as chief of staff to General Meade, antl served till the 
surrender of General Lee. For his services in this cam- 
paign he was brevetted brigadier-general in the regular 
ami}', and at the same time major-general for his gallant 
and meritorious services throughout the war. 

In June, 1865, the President assigned him to duty as 
inspector-general of the militar_\- division of the Atlantic, 
with the rank of major-general. In 1866 he became 
principal assistant professor of Geography, History, and 
Fthics at West Point, and afterwards served as lieutenant- 
colonel of the P'orty-fourth Inf.intr\-, and as major-general 
in command of the first military district till April, 1869. 
He was discharged from the army at his own request on 
December 3, 1870. 

He was at home awaiting orders, and suffering from 
wounds received in battle, when, in 1869, he was elected 
president of the College of New York. 

When he took charge of the College of the City of 
New York it had four hundred and forty-seven students, 
and cost the city $125,000 a year. It now has fourteen 
hundred students, with little additional cost to the city. 
He has thoroughly reorganized the college and brouglit 
it into so high a standing among institutions of learning 
that its diploma now commands respect in all the lead- 
ing schools of the Union. General ^Vebb is author of 
"The Peninsula: McClellan's Campaign of 1862." He 
was given the degree of LL.D. b\' Hobart College in 
1870. 



338 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN HUNTER. 

John Hunter, widely kmnvn iis one of tlic leaders of 
the turf in America, was born at Hunter's Island, West- 
chester Count)', New York, on tlie 27tli of February, 
1833, liis place of birth biinL; the estate and mansion of 
liis grandfatlier, who was one of the leading men in 
tiic State politics of New York at an early date, and 
for twelve years a member of the State Senate. Mr. 
Hunter's father was Elias Desbrosscs Hunter, and his 
mother was Ann Munro, a daughter of Peter J. Munro, 
secretary of legation for John Jaj- when he went to 
S])ain as United States minister in 1780. 

Mr. Hunter received his education for the most part 
fiom jM-ivate tutors, the only e.Nception to this being six 
montlis of stud\- in the Grammar-School of Columbia 
College, during which period only he was brought into 
that keen com[)etiti(jn with other boys which is one of 
the great utilities of school-room study. After com- 
pleting his schooling he made no effort to engage in 
business, professional, or ])ublic life. The heir to a 
valuable estate, he had both no desire or occasion to 
engage in avocations of this character, and found the 
care of the propert)' confided to his charge sufficient : 
employment t(» kee|) him engaged. Public life has ne\er 
had an)' attractions for him. Democratic in his political 
views, he has avoitled aiu' marked activity in political 
af(;\irs or aspiration fir office, the onl)- position to which 
he was ever elected !))■ the people being that of Presi- 
dential elector in 1884. This was an important and 
significant occasion. No Democrat hail been elected to I 
the Presidency since the election of Huchanan in 1856, 
a period of nearly thirty years, and Mr. Hunter had the 
good fortune of aiiling to break this long era of Re- : 
publican success, by casting his electoral vote for the 1 



election of Grover Cleveland, for the State of New York, 
that State which gave the casting vote in the important 
Presidential campaign of 1884. 

Outside of his personal property and business in- 
terests, Mr. Hunter's chief occupation and enjo)-nient 
has been in connection with the turf, with whose progress 
in America he has been identified since 1S56, a period 
of very nearly fort)' )'ears. During this period he has 
done his full share towards the development of the 
American thoroughbred horse, and aided essentiall)- in 
freeing the race-course from the evils which surrounded 
it anil at times have threatened to sink it utterl\- in public 
esteem. The racing field in America has had its two 
grades, that of the disreputable course worked solely 
for the profit of its proprietors, and in which gambling 
and dishonest trickery have run rampant, and that of the 
reputable course, controlled by men of standing in the 
community, and whose whole aim has been the develop- 
ment of an American racer which should be unrivaled 
in the world. It need scarcely be said that Mr. Hunter 
is a member of the latter reputable class. 

When he first began racing, at twenty-three years of 
age, the turf was composed of gentlemen of the most 
creditable character, including such men as William J. 
Moran, Duncan J. Kenner, Ailam Birgaman (who dividetl 
the first honors with lidward E\-erett at Harvard), Gen- 
eral T. J. Wells, of Louisiana, Otway P. Hare, T. W. 
Doswell.and William Allen, of Virginia, Governor Oden 
Bowie and Colonel Frank Hall, of Maryland, Matthew 
Singleton and William Sinclair, of South Carolina, 
Colonel \V. Vilcy, Robert A. Alexander, and A. Keene 
Richards, of Kentuck)-, and William H. Gibbons (who 
served on Jackson's staff), of New Jerse)'. These gentle- 
men controlled the turf at that period anil governed it 
with a \igorous hand. None of them raced for profit, 
and it is due to their efforts that we possess the thor- 
oughbred American horse of to-day. It is but just to 
say that Mr. Hunter joined this band of reputable turf- 
men as a younger associate, and has done his best to 
sustain the traditions of the turf left by them. He 
succeedeil August Belmont as presiilent of the Jocke)' 
Club. This po.sition he resigneil in December, 1894, 
and was succeedeil in it b)' August Belmont, Jr., a 
worthy successor to the two presidents named. Mr. 
Hunter was also chaiiinan of the Hoaid of Control until 
that went out of existence. 

Mr. Hunter married Miss Annie Middleton, d.iughter 
of Henry A. Middleton, of South Carolina, and has had 
a family of eight children. The okl Himter homestead, 
built of stone in 181 3, still stands, being part of Pel- 
ham Park, a portion of the new park .system of New 
York, which has absorbed the old estate, and in which 
the homestead now stands with the solidit)- of an old 
fort. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



339 



MICHAEL JACOBS. 

Michael Jacobs is a native of Buffalo, New York, in 
which city he was born in 1850. His youth, however, 
was passed in New York Cit}-, wliere he was educated 
at first in the public schools and in Becker's Institute, 
and afterwards in the College of the City of New York. 
On graduating from the latter institution he, having 
chosen the law for his profession, entered the Law De- 
partment of Columbia College, passed a successful course 
of study, and was admitted to the bar of New York City 
in 1870. 

Mr. Jacobs at once entered into practice, having asso- 
ciated himself in a legal partnership with Mr. I. L. Sink, 
under the firm-title of Jacobs & Sink. His practice was 
from the start successfid, and at a later period he took 
into partnership with him his two brothers, Edward 
Jacobs, who at one time w^as a quarantine commissioner, 
and Joseph A. Jacobs, since deceased. He was made 
deputy clerk of the city court of New York, but contin- 
ued the practice of his profession with his brothers, under 
the firm-name of Jacobs Brothers. 

For the past eighteen years this firm has been actively 
engaged in practice in the New York courts, and has been 
retained in most of the extensive failures in the clothing 
and dry-goods importing trade and other branches of 
large commercial business. Mr. Jacobs has also fre- 
quent!}' been associated with other lawx-ers as counsel 
in the trial of jury cases, and lias proved himself a forensic 
orator of excellent abilit)', his fluent manner of speech 
and logical powers of thought gi\'ing him much influence 
u]ion juries. The devotion of the firm to the interests 
of their clients, their industry in the preparation of cases, 
and energ)- and abilit\- in their handling of suits have 
given them a high reputation as skillful and accomplished 
lawyers, and to-day the Jacobs Brothers stand in the first 
rank among the members of the New York bar. 

The eminently successful career of Mr. Jacobs is no 
mystery to those who are acquainted with his powers. 
Ever since his admission to the bar he has been connected 
with important cases, many of them of a character to 
demand the highest grade of legal skill and knowledge, 
and his management of such cases has long since won 
him recognition as one of the ablest and most successful 
of our legal practitioners. He enters earnestly into the 
study of every case he assumes, and labors with all the 
powers at his command to bring it to a successful issue. 

Mr. Jacobs took a leading part in the Florida Ship 
Canal enterprise, one of the most important engineering 
problems of recent date. In this project he served as a 
director, upon a board including such well-known mem- 




bers as Hon. Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, 
Hon. William Mahone, United States Senator from Vir- 
ginia, and e.x-Governor Brown, of Tennessee. He also 
served as a director in the Harris Telephone Comi)any, 
upon which board his associates included lion. Isliam 
G. Harris, United States Senator from Tennessee, and 
General Daniel E. Sickles, of New York. 

Among the more important legal cases in which Mr. 
Jacobs has been concerned was that of the formation of 
the Southern Pacific Railroad system, through the con- 
solidation of six preceding independent roads. In this 
case he was retained by Hon. James G. Fair, of Califor- 
nia, formerly United States Senator from Nevada, for an 
expert opinion upon the legality of this consolidation, 
and the validity, in such case, of the guarantee b}- the 
Southern Pacific Company of the bonds held by Mr. 
Fair. It was upon Mr. Jacobs's written opinion in favor 
of the legality of consolitlation tli<it this took place, and 
Mr. Fair accepted the guarantee of the Southern Pacific 
Company. 

In political opinion Mr. Jacobs has always been an 
earnest member of the Democratic party, and for man\- 
years has been a member of the Tammany Hall General 
Committee of the Fifteenth Assembly District. He is 
past president of Metropolitan Lodge I. O. F. S. of I., 
which society he has twice represented with distinction 
in the Grand Lodge. He is also a member of Franklin 
Lodge, F. and A. M., and belongs to the Pontiac and 
other clubs. Personally he is a broad-minded and ac- 
complished gentleman, and numbers among his friends 
many persons of high distinction. • 



340 



MAKERS OF NFJV YORK. 




HLLIS H. MASTERS. 

A.mom; tliL- ailvcilisiuL; ayciits attaclicil t(^ the New 
York newspapers none is more deservedly popular nor 
more widely known tli.m I^liis H. Masters, tlic advertis- 
inLj department < if tlic Xew York Tribuiu\ who for ncarl\- 
fiuirteen )-ears has been connected with that paper, during 
wliicli time he has ])laced in its columns huntlrcds of 
thousands of dollars' worth of advertisements. 

Mr. Masters is a Pennsylvanian by birtli, he having 
been born in Columbia County in that State some forty- 
five years ago. His youthful years were passed in 
Columbia and Ljxoming Counties, where he obtained 
iiis education and spent all his earlier boyhootl days. 
His business life, however, began in ritlsburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, in which city he became engaged in mercantile 
pursuits and obtained his preliminary knowledge of busi- 
ness affairs. His mercantile experience in Pittsburg 
ended in 1S77, when he removed to Philadelphia and 
obtained a situation in the widely-known advertising 
agency of N. \V. Ayres & Son, which lias since become 
one of the leatling institutions of this kind in the country. 
Mr. Masters's Pittsburg experience had ])repared him for 
this line of business, and lie remained in the Ayres's 
agency for nearly four years, gaining there a thorougli 
acipiaintance with all the details of the advertising busi- 
ness, and a reputation as an able, energetic, and enter- 
prising seeker of advertising patronage. His repute in 
this direction brought him in 1881 an offer to the adver- 
tising department of the New York Tribune, a position 
calculated to employ all the time and energy of a very 



active man. Mr. Masters accepted the offer, and has 
retained the position ever since, with the fullest satisfac- 
tion to himself and to the proprietors of the Tribune. 

With a large acquaintance among advertisers, both 
local and distant, and a personality that wins and holds 
the esteem and friendship of those with whom he comes 
into contact, Mr. Masters has been able to secure for the 
paper which he represents a very large amount of busi- 
ness which but for him would have been diverted to other 
channels. I lis energy ami acti\ity, and keen scent for 
business opportunities, continue great, antl no other 
interest is allowed to stand in his wa)' where an order 
is in prospect for the columns of the Tribune. As an 
example, we may state that recently, seeing what seemed 
an opportunity for a business operation in Boston, he 
made a flj'ing trip to and from that cit)', leaving New 
York at five o'clock in the afternoon and reaching Boston 
by eleven at night. He hunted up the parties concerned, 
presented his views and propositions in the briefest but 
most effective language, secured a page ad\crtisemcnt 
for the Tribune, and was off for home again on the mid- 
night train. This whole operation, performed between 
the close of business hours on one da\- and the opening 
of those on the next, was the cjuickest trip of the kind 
on record, and its performance speaks volumes for the 
enterprising spirit of Mr. Masters. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that his paper appre- 
ciates his services quite as fully as his associates regard 
his frientlship. He is thoroughU- identified with the 
interests of the Tribune, ami in e\-ery respect deserves 
the confidence reposed in him. 

Mr. Masters was married in 1S77 to Miss Alelha 
I lagenbuch, nf \\illiani<[)ort, I'ennsyK aiiia. h'or the past 
twelve j'cars he has resided in the pleasant suburban town 
of East Orange, New Jersey, where he has a charming 
home and is looked upon as one of the choice spirits of 
the place. His popularity here was recently indicated 
by his nomination to the Town Council and his election 
by a hanilsome majoritj-. He is a director of the East 
Orange National H.ink and a trustee of the Calvary 
Methodist Church, to whoNe interests he devotes much 
attention. 

Mr. Masters personally is one of the most genial and 
whole-souled of men. Hi-, successful career has been 
witnessed with pleasure hy hosts of friends, alike in New 
York and in the several other cities in which he made 
his home during the earlier years of his business life, 
while in his place of residence no man is more esteemed 
or has a wider circle of friends and well-wishers. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



34' 



JOHN G. McCULLOUGH. 

John Griffith McCullough, prominent in the railroad 
interests of the United States, was born near Newark, 
Delaware, of mingled Scotch and Welsh ancestry. His 
father died when he was but three years of age and his 
mother when he was seven. He was, however, kindly 
cared for by friends and relatives, and though his early 
educational opportunities were meagre, his diligence in 
study was great, while perseverance and industry finally 
gave him the advantages of a good education. This 
was obtained at Delaware College, where he graduated 
with honors before reaching his twentieth year. He 
next entered upon the study of law in the office of St. 
George Tucker Campbell, of Philadelphia, a lawy-er of 
much prominence. He studied here earnestly for three 
years, and also in the law department of the University 
of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated, and in 1859 
was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Unfortunately for his hopes of success in legal practice 
his health had become seriously weakened, symptoms of 
pulmonar\- trouble appearing, and growing so grave that 
he was forced to seek a more genial climate for the pres- 
ervation of his life. He accordingly sailed for California, 
after having tried and won a single case in court. Upon 
his arrival at San Francisco he found the winds there too 
bleak for his weakened lungs, and made his wa\- to Sacra- 
mento, where he obtained admission to practice in the 
Supreme Court of the State. His health, however, con- 
tinued so delicate that he was compelled to leave this 
city also, and he next sought the foot-hills of the Sierra 
Nevada with the hope that their dry and exhilarating 
air would enable him to overcome this discouraging 
weakness. 

It was in i860 that he reached the final end of his 
long journey, in Mariposa County, where he opened an 
office for the transaction of legal business, and was not 
long in acquiring a satisfactory share of practice. New 
duties, however, soon opened before him, natural conse- 
quences of the situation of affairs in California at that 
date. Before he had gained any extended acquaintance 
with the people he found himself drawn prominently 
into the struggle for the preservation of the Union. The 
settlers of the State had come from North and South 
alike, and secession sentiment was strong in the vicinity 
of his new abode. General Sumner's coming was very 
fortunate in choking the schemes of the Southern sym- 
pathizers, and young McCullough, who was earnestly 
loyal to the government, wrought actively in the same 
cause, speaking with patriotic wai'mth and enthusiasm in 
favor of the Union. His eloquence and courage soon 
raised him to a position of leadership among those to 
whom he had a few months before been a stranger, and 
though scarcely yet qualified by length of residence, he 




was nominated and elected to the Legislature, Repub- 
licans and Douglas Democrats alike voting for him. 

His work for the Union cause in the Assembly was so 
vigorous and successful that in 1862 he was elected to 
the State Senate, in a district that for }-ears hail been 
Democratic. Here his legal knowledge and earnest 
patriotism served him so well and gave him such an in- 
fluence over legislation that in the following )-ear he was 
nominated for attorney-general, and elected by an over- 
whelming majority. This office he held for four years, 
residing at Sacramento. He was again nominated in 
1867, when, though his work in the office had been 
eminently satisfactory, popular sentiment had changed, 
and the whole Republican ticket was defeated. He now, 
with recovered health, settled in San Francisco, where 
for five )-ears he was one of the most prominent members 
of the bar and enjoyed a highl)' remunerative practice. 

In 1 87 1 he visited the East, where he married P^liza 
Hall, an accomplished Vermont lady. He soon returned 
to California, but subsequently, at his wife's desire, re- 
turned to the East. He had won an ample fortune, and 
now became active in railroad, banking, and commercial 
affairs, making New York City his principal place of resi- 
dence. For ten years from 1873 he was vice-president 
and general manager of the Panama Railroad Company, 
and president from 1883 till 1888, when he resigned. In 
1884 he became a director in the Erie Railroad Com- 
pany, and since 1S8S has been chairman of its executive 
connnittee. He was elected the first president of the 
Chicago and Erie Railroad in 1890, which office he still 
holds. He is also president and director in several other 
corporations. Politically he has kep| up his early ac- 
tivity, but though supporting by his eloquence many 
candidates, has displayed no aspiration for public office 
on liis own part. 



44 



342 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




J. WARREN GODDARD. 

Joseph Wakren Goddard, lon<^ the head of one of 
the most prosperous dry-goods houses in this country, 
was born in New York Cits-, June 1 1, 1829, being the son 
of Joseph Goddard, of Brookline, Massachusetts, and 
Elizabeth Norton, daughter of Birdscye Norton, of Go- 
shen, Connecticut. Mr. Goddard received his education 
at the New York Grammar School, and when but nine- 
teen years of age started business on his own account, 
adventuring in a modest way in the dry-goods trade at 
No. 95 William Street, a locality long since abandoned 
by the retail textile industry, but then much favored by 
buyers. 

Mr. Goddard remained here for three years, working 
hard and living so frugally that liis first year's expenses 
of maintenance were but S250. In 1 851, at the end of 
this preliminary business ])criod, the young merchant 
took into partnership with him his brother, F. N. Goddard, 
giving him a half-interest in the results of his three years 
of severe labor. Soon afterwards the firm removed to 
No. 55 Maiden Lane, where it continued for five years. 
For one year of this period Mr. Merrill was a partner, 
but this arrangement soon endeil, and the firm assumed 
the name by which it was long knr>wn, that of Goddard 
& Hrother. ICncrgy, enterprise, and ability told, as they 
rarely fail to tell ; the business of the house grew rapidly, 
and as the tide of trade moved northward on the island, 
the house followed, establishing itself in 1S57 at No. 20 
Park Place, and in 1861 at Nos. 331-333 Broadway. 

Here the house remained long established, its business 
steadily growing, until in iS^Ga new move became neces- 
sary, and the large stores 461 to 467 Broadway, in the 
Lord & Taylor Building, were taken. Its trade continued 
to increase in this luw location until it reached the front 



rank of houses in its line of business in the United 
States. 

Mr. Goddard had been married in 1854 to Celestine 
Gardiner, daughter of Baldwin Gardiner, and of the 
eighth generation in descent from Lionel Gardiner of 
Gardiner's Island. Of their three sons one died in in- 
fancy. The others were now approaching business age. 
At the end of 1879 the firm of Goddard & Brother 
was dissolved, Mr. Goddard jjurchasing the interest 
of his brother, Frederic N. Goddard. On the 1st of 
January, 1880, Warren N. Goddard, Mr. Goddard's 
eldest son, who had graduated from Harvard six months 
before, was admitted to the firm, which now took the title 
of J. W. Goddard & Son. In 1S82 the establishment 
was removed to No. 516 Broadway, and on January i, 
1883, F. Norton Gocklaid, the }-oungcr son, who had 
graduated from Har\ard in the preceding spring, was 
admitted to the firm, which then assumed its present 
name of J. W. Goddard & Sons. Here the establish- 
ment remained fixed until Mr. Goddard's death, which 
took place on September 18, 1890. 

Aside from his business life, of which we have here 
given but the briefest epitome, Mr. Goddard's career was 
one of the most creditable character. His high sense of 
honor, strong integrity, and earnest public spirit made his 
death felt as a mo.st serious loss to the comnuinity. .As 
a striking evidence of his courageous character may be 
related an incident that occurred earlj' in the civil war. 
Mr. Goddaril was then a member of the executi\-e com- 
mittee of the Union League Club. When the first colored 
regiment was organized in New York and pre[)ared to 
march to the front, \iolent threats were made by the mob 
that this regiment should never march down Broadway 
on its journey to the seat of war. In this emergency 
forty members of the Union League, among them Mr. 
Goddard, marched ilown Broadway at the heatl of the 
colored volunteers, so ccnving the mob bj- their presence 
that the projected attack vanisheil away in muttereil 
threats. 

Mr. Goddard was a member of Dr. Bellows's church, 
and one of his active supporters in the work of the Sani- 
tary Commission. For many years he was a trustee of 
the Women's Hospital, and was active in its management 
and enlargement. I le was vice-president of the Green- 
wich Savings Bank. No man was more highly resjiected 
in the commnnily than he, his sterling uprightness, re- 
gard for his word, excellent judgment, native wisilom, 
and a good taste and intelligence augmented b_\- studi(5us 
reading, gaining him general regard. Since his death, 
the business, now conducted by his sons, has been re- 
nii>\eil into the large buililing Nos. 98 and lOO Bleecker 
Street, where it is regarded as the largest house deal- 
ing in its specialty of linings, silks, mohairs, etc., in ihe 
United States. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



343 



J. WALTER THOMPSON. 

J. Walter Thomi'son, the well-known magazine ad- 
vertiser, is a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in which 
city lie was born October 28, 1847. His parents removed 
to Ohio while he was still quite young, and the early 
part of his life, including its educational period, was 
passed in that State. He was still quite youthful when 
he came to New York, — early in the sixties, — in which 
cit)' he shortly afterwards entered upon a mercantile 
career. This first venture in the active business of life 
was made in 1864, when he was sexenteen years of age. 
He began his career in the metropolis under the same 
conditions as did Horace Greele\' and man\' others who 
have achieved success, being without money and without 
influence, but possessed of that indomitable energy and 
spirit of enterprise which e\cn ill fortune itself is power- 
less to defeat, and which, as a rule, win good fortune by 
commanding it. 

Mr. Thompson began his career, in a minor capacit}', 
in that field of labor wliich was to become the work of his 
later life, his first position being that of clerk in an adver- 
tising establishment. The ambitious bo\- was not content 
to remain long in this subordinate capacity. When onl)- 
a clerk it was one of his first resolves to be a good clerk, 
to do his dut}- to his employers, comprehend the business 
in which he was engaged, and fit himself by industry and 
intelligence for higher positions in the domain of mercan- 
tile life. Mr. Tliompson was well equipped by nature 
with the qualities which bring a man to the front alike in 
the position of a clerk or a merchant. He had integrit)-, 
energ)', patience, and perseverance, together with the 
important virtues of manner of courtes\-, willingness, and 
alacrity, and with them belief in his own powers, the 
self-confidence which disarms ad\ersity and is one of 
the most essential elements of success. Add to these a 
pleasing address, the power of impressing his views on 
others, the secret of convincing, and we can readily com- 
prehend his remarkable progress in his chosen field of 
labor, that of soliciting and placing magazine advertise- 
ments, of which he was the creator. 

As has been said, Mr. Thompson did not content him- 
self with the bare duties of clerkship. These did not 
exhaust all his time, and he quickly began to look around 
for a method of profitabh- improving his hours of leisure. 
He had taken an earnest hold of the advertising idea, 
and neglected no opportunity to learn all he could about 
it, and to invent new methods of operation and discover 
new fields of extension in his adopted line of business. 
His first stcj) on his own account was taken in ]h-ook- 
lyn, where he secured control of a number of theatre 
programmes as profitable channels of advertising. To 




these he soon added the programmes of several of the 
New York theatres, con\incing the managers that he 
could make the enterprise doubly profitable. From this 
first venture he succeeded in adding both to his income 
and his experience. 

This first stage in his independent career was followed 
by others, and by an advance in position in the firm in 
whose service he was engaged, until he eventually pur- 
chased and became successor to its business. To this 
business he has, since acquiring complete control of 
it, steadily added, developing its importance and mag- 
nitude, especially in the special field of magazine adver- 
tising, until to-day he is the autocrat in this profitable 
field of industrj'. He has gained a controlling influence 
over most of the advertising that appears in the American 
magazines, and built up a business in this line that is 
regarded by his ri\-als in the adveitising field as phe- 
nomenal. 

Personally Mr. Thompson is a man of excellent 
judgment and cool self-control, agreeable in manner, 
ready in speech, and quick to perceive and grasp the 
details of a business situation, and to avoid risky com- 
plications. He is loyal alike to the interests of his 
patrons and his friends, faithful and accurate in perform- 
ance, confident in his judgment, careful in expressing an 
opinion, but firm in his conclusions when once reached, 
and in all respects a model of the born man of busi- 
ness. 

Mr. Thompson was married in 1877 to Miss Margaret 
R. Bogle, daughter of the late James Bogle, the cele- 
brated portrait-painter, and a prominent member of the 
New York Academy of Design. 



344 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




JOHN ROACH. 

John Roach, one of the most notable of American 
sliip-builclers, was born at Mitchelstown, County Cork, 
Ireland, December 25, 1815, the son of a rejjutable mer- 
chant of that place. His place of birtli afforded but 
limited opportunities for education, and these ceased at 
the age of thirteen, his father becoming ruined in busi- 
ness through endorsing notes for his friends, and soon 
after dying, leaving the mother with a large family to 
maintain. Jolin, the oldest son, thereupon resolved to 
come to America, with the hope that intlustr)- and enter- 
prise would win him success in that New World. He 
was si.xtcen years old when he landed in New York, 
whence he traveled on foot for sixty miles to secure a 
position offered him in the Howell Iron Works in New 
Jersey, his wages to be twenty-five cents a day. 

The boy's intelligence, industry, and self-reliance soon 
won him the favor of Mr. Allaire, the ])roprietor, who 
took an earnest interest in him, antl gave him every 
opportunity to gain a thorough knowledge of the trade. 
Industry and economy enabled him, after a number of 
years, to save S1200, of which in 1840 he ilrew a portion, 
went to Illinois, and made an advance payment on three 
hundred acres of land on the .site of the present city of 
I'eoria. Unfortunatel)' for him, Mr. Allaire, who held 
the balance of his savings, just then failed in business, and 
the ambitious young ])ionccr lost all he had so painfully 
saved, forfeiting the mr>ney paid in advance on liis land. 

He immediately returned to New York, where he en- 
tered an establishment to learn the trade of making cast- 
ings for ships and marine engines, at one dollar a day 
wages. Having again accumulated a little capital, he 
and three fellow-workmen purchased a small foundry in 
New York and began work for themselves in a modest 
way. His three partners soon drew out, and went to 



\vork for him as employes, leaving him alone in the 
business. Under his intelligent control it progressed 
rapidly, every venture he made proved successful, and at 
the close of four years he had found it necessarj* to en- 
large his works and was the possessor of SjO.OOO capital. 
Then, in 1.^56, misfortune came. A boiler burst and de- 
stro}-ed his works, he could not recover the insurance, 
anil his debts absorbed every dollar he had saved. 

l-'ortunatcly he had won a reputation for enterprise 
and integrit)', his credit was excellent, and he at once 
rebuilt his works on a larger scale, and with facilities for 
building larger marine engines than had hitherto been 
produced in this country, while some of its tools were the 
largest that had yet been used in America. In this new 
establishment, known as the /litna Iron Works, he went 
vigorousl)- to work, rapitily building up a new and profit- 
able trade until he had more than fifteen hundred men 
under his employment, and was turning out marine en- 
gines for the largest vessels built up to th.it time in this 
countr)-, including several large war-vessels and the 
mammoth steamboats " Bristol" and " Providence." 

By 1868 Mr. Roach's business had grown to such 
proportions that he found it advisable to purchase the 
Morgan Iron Works, an establishment of great dimen- 
sions ; and soon afterwards bought the Neptune and the 
Allaire Works antl the Franklin Forge. In 1871 he built 
a great ship-yard at Chester, Pcnnsj-hania. This estab- 
lishment cox'eretl a large area on the ri\er front, and was 
valued at j52,000,000. Mr. Roach was its principal owner. 
While he built a number of large ships for the govern- 
ment, the most of his work was for private parties, the 
Delaware River works becoming in time so famous as to 
win for that stream the name of " The Clyde of America." 

Mr. Roach studied deepl)' the requirements of modern 
war-\essels, and ailvised the go\-ernment to buihl onl)' 
impro\-ed in.icliincr_\-. llis ad\icc resiilteil in the placing 
of compound engines in the " Tennessee," a trial which 
proved a ilecided success. He afterwards de\isetl a plan 
for founding a nati\e merchant marine, which was 
strongly favored by Presitlent Garfield, but action on 
which was prevented by the President's death. Misfor- 
tune subsequently visited Mr. Roach. He had con- 
tracted to build four large vessels for the go\ernment. 
The first of these, the " Dolphin," was built and acce]iteii, 
but was afterwards refiiscd by Sccretar)' Whitnej', who 
also declared lli.it Mr. Roach's contract woukl not hokl 
good. He had invested vei)' largel}' in this goxernment 
work, and the willulrawal of the contract forced liim, on 
July 18, 18S5, to make an assignment. Mr. Roach iic\er 
recovered fiom the consei|uences of this unmerited blow. 
His powerful constitution gave waj', and he died in New 
York, January 10, 1SS7. His sons continue his works, 
one having charge of the Chester establishment and one 
of the Morgan Iron Works at New York. 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 



345 



SHEPPARD KNAPP. 

Sheppard Knapp, a prominent member of the mercan- 
tile fraternity of New York City, was born in Vorktown, 
Westchester County, near Peekskill, New York, August 
30, 1839. He is a descendant of Moses Knapp, born in 
England about 1655, and one of the early immigrants to 
the colony of New Yoik, where he pla\-ed a leading part 
in the affairs of the colon}' in the earl\' part of the eigh- 
teenth century, and was one of the trustees named in the 
ro\-al charter of White Plains, dated March 13, 1721. 
He died in this countr\- in 1756, at the age of one 
hundred and one. The men of the family were farmers ; 
their lands have been handed down from father to son 
through successive generations. Jacob Frost Knapp, 
Sheppard's father, was a prosperous farmer and carriage- 
builder, who died when his son was three years of age, 
lea\ing the boy to grow up on the farm, amid the healthy 
surroundings of a rural life, and to gain such education 
as the schools in the \icinity of iiis native place could 
afford. 

The subject of this sketch came to New York in 1S52, 
a mere lad, at that time only thirteen years old, at which 
immature age he was obliged to enter upon the active 
business of life. He was quickl}- fortunate in obtaining 
a clerkship, in which position he remained industriously 
engaged until from his salary he saved enough to pay 
for a year's course at an academy in Bordentown, New 
Jersey. This opportunit\- for an advanced education, 
whose necessit)' he had strongl}- felt, was made the most 
of he apph'ing himself with the utmost diligence to his 
studies, from which he gained the foundation for his 
future business training. At the e.xpiration of these 
studies he returned to New York, where for a time he 
was engaged in the fanc\' dry-goods trade, and later 
accepted a clerkship in a retail carpet store in Hudson 
Street. Mr. Knapp being a progressive youth, and full 
of ambition, quickly determined to branch out for him- 
self, and in 1855, when still but sixteen years of age, he, 
in company with a fellow-clerk, started a carpet store of 
his own, which he carried on successfully for nine years, 
at the entl of which time he removed to a commodious 
store on Sixth Avenue, near his present location. B\' 
his just dealings and strict business integrity Mr. Knapp 
became e\entually one of the most successful men in 
the carpet trade, and after remaining seven years in the 
location above referred to he determined to erect a large 
building, better adapted alike in size and in appointments 




than the building previousl}- occupied, for his great trade. 
This extensive structure he now occupies, although it 
has been greatly enlarged since its first erection, as his 
increasing business has from time to time demanded 
more room. When Mr. Knapp began the sale of carpets, 
the American manufacture was in its infancy, and it is 
largely due to his effort that the development of this 
home industry has grown so enormously, the carpet pro- 
duction of this country now amounting to millions of 
dollars annually. The carpets heretofore purchased in 
Europe, but now obtained in this country, are, in fact, so 
exten.sive in quantity and so excellent in qualit}- and 
finish as to vie with those of the most productive manu- 
facturing regions of the Old World, and the Quaker 
City can to-day claim to be the greatest producer of 
carpets of any city in the world. The Smyrna American 
carpet was one of the great specialties of the establish- 
ment, and almost owes its existence to Mr. Knapp. He 
was its originator, and was refused a patent on a mere 
technicality, but has had much to do in bringing it to 
the attention of American buyers. 

In 1S63 Mr. Knapp married Sarah E, daughter of 
Hiram Miller, of New York. They have five children. 
Mr. Knapp is a member of the New York Athletic Club, 
is a thorough gentleman, and an earnest, active citizen, 
esteemed for his uprightness by all who know him, and 
bearing an enviable reputation alike in the social and the 
mercantile world. 



346 



MAKERS OF NEW YORK. 




WILLIAM D. BALDWIN. 

Wii.i.iAM Dklavan Baldwin, a prominent member of 
tlie well-known Otis Elevator Company, is a native of 
Auburn, Cayuga County, New York, in which place he 
was born September 5, 1856. He is the son of Love- 
well H. Baldwin, and a descendant of John Baldw in, of 
Dedham, Massachusetts. The Baldwins came to this 
country at an early date, and first settled in Vermont, 
beinfj amont; the orij^inal ancestr)- of the famous " Green 
Mountain Boys" of a later date. Mr. Baldwin's mother 
was Sarah J. Munson, daughter of Aaron Bennett, of 
New Brunswick, New Jersey. 

Mr. Baldwin received such education as was to be had 
in the jjublic sciiools of iiis native place, his school life 
continuing until the age of fifteen, when he left school 
to engage in the business of life, entering the extensive 
establishment of D. M. Osborn & Co. as an aid and 
learner. Here the _\-oung aspirant for mercantile honors 
made rapid progress, his energy and ability, with his 
earnest devotion to the interests of his emploj-ers, win- 
ning him commendation and advancement until, before 
he had reached his majorit)', he held a |X)silion of trust 
and responsibility in the establishment. There could be 
no higher testimony to his native business ability and the 
confidence placed in him b)- his employers than the fact 
that, at the age of twenty-one, they sent him to lun-ope 
to take charge of the Iun-o])ean branch of their business. 

Mr. Baldwin continued in this responsible jjo.sition for 
five )'ears, performing its duties satisfactorily to all con- 
cerned, and g.iining a wide experience in business man- 



agement which was destined to be of much advantage 
to him in later years. At the end of that period, being 
desirous to return to his native land and become himself 
one of the controlling agents in a business concern, he 
resigned his position with the Osborn Com[)an)' and 
crossed the ocean to New York, where he entcreil the 
elevator-building firm of Otis Brother & Co. as a stock- 
holder, and was votetl in treasurer of the company. 

Mr. Baldwin is at present one of the largest stock- 
holders in this nourishing firm, of the character and 
e.Ktent of whose business sufficient details have been 
given in our sketches of the Otis brothers. He still 
retains his position as treasurer of this company, and is 
besides its general manager, the control of the extensive 
business of the concern being in his hands. In conse- 
quence of his acceptance of this position he remoxed, 
in 1887, from his former residence at Montclair, New 
Jersey, to Yonkers, New York, where the works of the 
Otis I^levator Company are situated, that he might have 
under his immediate supervision the important details of 
manufacture and handling of the products of the com- 
pan)-'s factories. 

Mr. Baldwin's success in business life is ilue to his 
indomitable will and i)erse\'erance, which are distinguish- 
ing traits in his character. Personally he is courteous 
and affable in his intercourse with business men ami 
fiicnds, while no man bears a higher re])utation th.m he 
for integrit}- and just dealing. In conseciiience, while he 
may be designated a thorough business man in e\ery 
just and proper sense of the word, his courtesy of man- 
ner and high sense of honor in all his ilealings have won 
him hosts of friends, and gained him the esteem of all 
with whom he comes into contact. 

Aside from his connection with the Otis Brother 
Company, Mr. BaUlwin has entereil into other business 
relations. He has been made \ice-president of the First 
National Bank of Yonkers. and holds the position of 
director in se\eral financial and other concerns. Polit- 
ically he is a member of the Republican partv, but has 
ne\er been a seeker for political honors, ami in 1892 
declined the nomin.ition offered him bj- the Republican 
part)' of his district for member of Congress. 

Mr. Baldwin was married in 1881 to Miss Helen R. 
.Sidlixan, daughter of Nahum Sullivan, of New 'V'ork, 
and has had three sons and three daughters, of whom 
five — Martin, Delavan, Helen, Louise, anti Runyon — are 
living ; one, Elsie, died in infancy. Mr. Baldwin is a 

' memljer of the Union League, the Ractpiet, the Lawjers", 

; and other clubs of New York City. 



INDEX. 



PAt;F. 

Adams, Henry H 301 

Anderson, Elbert E 300 

Anderson, John 213 

ArPLETON, Daniel 92 

Appleton, William H 121 

Arnoux, William H 2S4 

Arthur, Chester A 30 

AsTOR, John J 46 

Astor, John J. (4TI1) 147 

AsTOR, William 146 

Astor, William B 127 

Backus, Brady E 112 

Baiz, Jacou ii5 

Baldwin, Christopher C 217 

Baldwin, William D 346 

Barnard, Frederick A. I' 94 

Ijatten, George 187 

Beach, Miles 25S 

Beckvvith, S. C 6S 

Beecher, Henry Ward 17 

Beekman, James W 319 

Belknap, Roiiert L 174 

Belmont, August ■ . . . 20 

Belmont, August, Jr 219 

Belmont, Perry 218 

Bennett, James G 160 

Bennett, James G., Jr 161 

Bergh, Henry 66 

Billings, Luther G 124 

Bliss, Cornelius N 237 

Bonnell, J. Harper 113 

Bonner, Robert 236 

Booth, Edwin 32 

Brady, James T 48 

Brandreth, Benjamin 12S 

Brandreth, William 129 

Brooke, Charles W 34 

Broome, John 235 

Brougham, John 15 

Bruce, George 285 

Bruce, Saunders D 247 

Bryant, William C 7 

Bryce, Lloyd 307 

Buckingham, Charles L 2S3 

BuRNiiAM, Frederick A 177 

BuRTis, Arthur 2S7 

Bush, J. C 166 

Butteritelu, Daniei 31 

Calvin, Delano C. ... 322 

Cannon, Henry W 281 

Carpenter, Philip 234 

Chandler, Albert B 315 

Chesebrougii, Robert A 330 

Childs, John L 114 

Choate, Joseph H 183 



PAGR 

Church, William C 240 

Claelin, Horace B 16 

Claflin, John 228 

Clapp, Dorlin F 222 

Clarkson, Floyd 253 

Clews, Henry 115 

Clinton, De Witt 70 

Clinton, George 45 

Cochrane, John 64 

Coe, George .S 205 

Colby, Charles L 278 

Colgate, James B 152 

CONKLING, ROSCOE 2g 

Cooke, Augustus P 58 

Cooper, Marvelle W 310 

Cooper, Peter 5 

Cornell, Alonzo B 293 

Cornell, Thomas C 215 

Cri.mmins, John D 171 

Crosby, Howard 27 

Curtis, George W 109 

CuYLER, Theodore 1 223 

Daly, Charles P 108 

Dana, Charles A 229 

Dana, Richard P 14 

D.utes, William G 67 

Davis, Richard H 43 

Dayton, Charles \V 249 

Depew, Chauncey M 155 

De Peyster, Frederick 198 

De Peyster, John W 199 

Dillon, Sydney 197 

Dix, John A 47 

Dix, Morgan 28 

Dodge, William E 11 

Douglass, David B 61 

Drake-Smith, Daniel 320 

DuNLAP, Robert 268 

Earle, Ferdinand P 59 

E.vioN, DoRMAN B 209 

Eaton, Horner 259 

Edson, Cyrus 273 

Edson, Franklin 272 

Eisner, Moritz 40 

Ely, Smith 74 

English, George W 306 

Ericsson, John 10 

Evarts, William M 21 

Evving, Thomas 36 

Farmer, Aaron D 262 

Farmer, William W 263 

FaRRELLY, PjVTRICK Ill 

Fay, Sigourney W 313 

Ferree, Samuel P 85 



I'AGn 

Ferris, Isaac 294 

Ferris, Morris P 295 

Field, Benjamin H 1S9 

Field, Cyrus W 49 

Field, David D 22 

Field, Henry M 191 

Fish, Hamilton 13 

FrrcH, Ashbel P 304 

Flagg, Ethan 135 

Fletcher, Austin B 282 

Flint, Benjamin 334 

Flint, Charles R 335 

Flower, Roswell P 52 

Fowler, Edward P 76 

Frelinghuysen, Frederick T 214 

Garrison, Cornelius K 131 

Gekrv, Elbridge T 212 

Gii.dersleeve, Henry A 230 

Goddard, J. Wauren 342 

Good, Brent 97 

Gould, Jay 220 

Grant, Frederick D 227 

Grant, Ulysses S 26 

Greeley, Horace 54 

Green, Norvin 309 

Gunther, Charles G 266 

U.vckett, James H 265 

Hall, William H 257 

Halleck, Fitz-Greene 261 

Halstead, Mur.-\t 148 

Hamersley, J. Hooker 207 

Hamersley, John W 206 

Hamilton, Alexander 37 

Harper, Edward B 158 

Harper, Fletcher 107 

Harper, Jam^s 104 

Harper, John 105 

Harper, Joseph W 106 

Havemeyer, John C 316 

Heald, Daniel A 246 

Hewitt, Abram S. . 25 

Hoac;land, C. N 145 

"HoiiBs, John Oliver" (Mrs. Craigie) 329 

Hoe, Robert 123 

Hoffman, Eugene A 229 

Hoffman, John T 311 

Homans, Sheppard 225 

hornblower, wli.liam b i96 

HoRTON, Harry L 274 

HoRTON, James M 298 

HoYT, Colgate . . m 186 

HoYT, Mark 291 

Hoyt, Oliver 290 

Hubbard, Thomas H 303 

Hughes, John 318 

347 



348 



INDEX. 



Hunt, Sanford 204 

Hunter, John 338 

Huntington, Collis T 299 



Irving, Washington 



Jacobs, MiCHAEi 339 

Kearnv, I'HiLir 19 

Ketchum, Edgar, Sk 245 | 

Ketchum, Edgar, Jk 195 

KiMiiERLY, Charles \\ 60 

King, Charles 72 

King, Rufus 73 

Kingsland, Amhrose C 130 

Knapi', Sheim'ari) 345 

Lamont, Daniel S 178 

Lanier, James F. D 164 

Lawton, William 77 

Lekferts, Marshali 56 

Leggett, Francis H 251 

Lenox, James 190 

Leslie, Frank 138 

LiTILEJOlIN, AltRAM N 2IO 

LocKMAN, John T 33 

LocKwooD, Howard 336 

LouNsr.URV, PiiiNEAs C 279 

Luce, Stei'Iien li 38 

LuYTiES, Henry E. G 117 

McAdam, David 277 

McCoRD, Hknrv D 250 

McCuLLOUGH, John G 341 

McLeoi), Archijiai.I) a 280 

Maci.ay, Robert 296 

Mandevii.le, Giles \\ 323 

Mai'ES, Charles D 297 

Marks, A. A 99 

Masters, Ellis H. . . 340 

Mayer, Charles F 93 

Melville, Geor(;e W 39 

MENDEi>f>N, JosErii 41 

Miller, GeoR(;k M. 75 

Mills, A. G 175 

Mills, D. O 181 

Mitchell, William . . . 269 

Moi.iNEUx, Edward . 165 

Moore, Stuart IL 83 

Morgan, Edwin 1). 162 

Morse, Lyman D. . 149 

Morse, Samuel F. l! 71 

Munn, Orson D 126 

Munro, Norman L. . 125 

Myers, Theodore W. 90 



NiLics, William W. . 
Noah, Mordecai M. . 

Otis, Charles R. 
Otis, Elisha G. . 
Otis, Norton l'. . . . 
OTTENDOREF.R, Oswald 

Packard, Silas S. . . 



32' 
102 

270 

'37 
271 
122 

289 



Page, J. Shaver 312 

Paink, Willis S 305 

Palmer, Albert M 193 

Palmer, Innis N. 159 

Park, Joseph 224 

Parkhurst, Charles H 89 

Peters, Bernard 324 

Pettengill, S. M 144 

Phillips, Morris 57 

Phienix, Daniei 194 

PiKRREPoNT, Edwards 132 j 

Porter, Fi tzJohn 24 

Porter, Horace no | 

Potter, Henry C 153 ' 

Potter, Orlando IJ 142 

Pulitzer, Joseph 81 

QuiNTARD, George W 140 

Raymond, Henry J 50 

Reid, WiiiTEi.AW 120 

Remsen, William 317 

Rhinelander, T. J. Oaklev 179 

Rhoades, Henry E 172 

Rice, Allen T 82 

Richards, John M r . . 328 

Richardson, A. Frank 233 

Roach, John 344 

RoiiERTs, George 15 96 

Roberts, Lewis 182 

Roberts, Marshall O 55 

ROMEYN, Henry 151 

Roosevelt, Robert B 314 

RoWEi.L, George P 79 

Ruger, Thomas H 12 

Sayre, Louis A 20S 

Schiei'i'elin, William H 327 

SCIIIKREN, CiIARI.es A 332 

Schoiteld, John M 88 

ScoTT, Alfred B 80 

Scott, George A 150 

Sears, Clinton B 173 

Seymour, Horatio 264 

Shepard, Elliot F 154 

Sickles, Daniel E 65 

Simmons, J. Edward 216 

Skinner, Halcyon 143 

Smith, Charles S 239 

Smith, GouvERNEUR M 119 

Smith, John S 255 

Smith, Joseph M. . . . 118 

Smith, Victor 84 

Southard, Milton 1 275 

Starin, John H 192 

Siayton, William H 260 

Steuman, Edmund C m 

Steinway, William 184 

Sterne, Simon 256 

Steurer, Charles D i8o 

Stewart, Alexander T 53 

Stewart, Edwin 35 

SiEWARi, John A 141 

SroDDARD, Richard Henry 267 

Strange, Theodore A 226 



TAG I! 

Strong, William L 86 

Stumpf, Anthony 188 

Swayne, Wager 326 

Tappan, Frederick D 325 

Tappan, Herman 100 

Taylor, Alexander 242 

Taylor, Alexander, Jr 243 

Taylor, James R 134 

Terry, John T 254 

Thompson, J. Walter 343 

Thomson, F'rank 157 

TiLDEN, Samuel J iS 

Tilford, F'rank . 232 

TowNSEND, John P 244 

Tracy, Benjamin F 87 

Trask, Spencer 185 

Tremain, Henry E 252 

Trenchard, Edward 91 

Trenchard, Stephen D 23 

Trevor, John B 288 

Truax, Ciiari.f_s H 302 

Tuttle, Nathaniel 176 

Upton, Emory 9 

Van Cott, Cornelius 241 

Vanderbilt, Cornelius loi 

Vanderbilt, Cornelius (2i>) 156 

Vanderbilt, William H 51 

Van Nostrand, David 78 

Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen, First Lonl of 

Ihc Manor 200 

Van Rensselaer, Kiliaen, First Palrooii 201 

Van Rensselaer, Stephen, Last Patrooii 202 
Van Rensselaer, Stephen, the " Young 

Patroon" 203 

Van Siclen, George W 331 

Van Vliet, Stewart 167 

ViELE, Egbert L 95 

Wainwright, Jonathan M 139 

Walke, Henry 286 

Wallace, John Lester 44 

Warren, Gouverneur K 42 

Webb, Alexander S 337 

Webb, William H 133 

Webb, William S 231 

Weed, Thurlow 62 

White, Stephen V 211 

Whitney, William C 1(19 

Wilcox, Reynold W 98 

Wilcox, Vincent M 238 

WlLKICS, ClIARLF.S 8 

Williams, George (j. . ... 248 

Willis, Nai haniei. P O3 

Wilson, Jamks G 103 

WiNDMUEl.LKR, LolMs ... 69 

Wolfe, John D. . 136 

Wood, William 308 

Woodward, William R 168 

Worden, John 1 163 

WORTHINGTON, HeNRY R 221 

Wright, Ebenezer K 276 

Ziegler, William 17° 



